Debate over New Cholesterol Screening Guidelines for Kids

Debate over New Cholesterol Screening Guidelines for Kids

http://news.yahoo.com/cholesterol-screening-guideline-kids-sparks-debate-162211837.html

The new recommendation is that all children ages 9 to 11 should be screened at least once for high cholesterol. The old recommendation advised screening only for children with a family history of heart disease or high cholesterol. The new guideline was issued by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Stephen Daniels, chair of the panel that wrote the guidelines stated, “The more we learn about heart disease and stroke in adults, the more we know that the process begins in childhood and progresses over time. By working with families, we can keep kids at a lower lifetime risk and prevent more serious problems in adulthood.” The old recommendation may have missed 30 to 60 percent of children with high cholesterol and an increase in childhood obesity has lead to a much higher proportion of kids who have high cholesterol.

Opponents such as Dr. Chad Teeters, a cardiologist from University of Rochester Medical Center, say the new recommendation has no value since treatment would not be started on these children and is too expensive to implement nationwide. There is no evidence that treating kids with medications for high cholesterol prevents or slows progression of heart disease. Lifestyle recommendations of healthier eating and more exercise is all that is recommended currently.

I feel just testing children at risk would still be appropriate. Having blood drawn without any added benefit between the ages of 9 to 11 can be traumatic for the child. Parents should just follow the healthy eating and exercise guidelines from the beginning.