London -- British researchers say children should have their cholesterol levels tested at about 15 months of age to prevent heart disease later in life.
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High cholesterol that runs in families is known as familial hypercholesterolaemia. It affects about two in every 1,000 people, causing very high levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
The condition carries a high risk of death from coronary heart disease, The British Medical Journal said Friday.
Researchers at Barts and the London Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry found that screening was most effective if done between the ages of 1 and 9. They said the screening at this age detected 88 percent of affected individuals.
Once an affected child is identified, their parents would then also be screened. Treatment to lower cholesterol could then be initiated immediately in the affected parent and delayed in the child until adulthood, the report said.
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Copyright 2007 by United Press International.