Andrea Gelemanović*
Mediterranean Institute for Life Sciences (MedILS), University of Split
agelemanovic [at] medils.unist.hr
Abstract
Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, are the leading causes of mortality and disability worldwide. These conditions are frequently observed as interconnected multimorbidity, reflecting shared molecular, physiological, and environmental determinants.
Here I am introducing MultiOM4CRM, a systems medicine initiative designed to unravel the shared biological architecture underlying cardio-renal-metabolic (CRM) multimorbidity. This project integrates multi-omics data with environmental, lifestyle, and clinical factors to move beyond disease-centric models toward a network-based understanding of chronic diseases and their progression. Advanced bioinformatic approaches, including multi-omics factor analysis, Mendelian randomization, and multimodal machine learning, are applied to identify shared biological pathways and regulatory mechanisms behind CRM. Recent insights into type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome emphasize the importance of pleiotropy, shared genetic architecture, gene-environment interactions, and chronic inflammation as central drivers of multimorbidity. Ongoing work is directed toward the development of predictive machine learning models for the identification of clinical and lifestyle signatures driving cardio-renal-metabolic multimorbidity.
Overall, MultiOM4CRM aims to shift the focus from individual diseases to shared biological mechanisms, enabling improved risk stratification and a more unified understanding of chronic disease progression.
Keywords: multimorbidity, multi-omics integration, personalised medicine
Acknowledgement: This work is supported by the Croatian Science Foundation under the project MultiOM4CRM (UIP-2025-02-9908).