Cholesterol Screening and Medication advised for Young Children

Cholesterol lowering drugs should be given to children as young as eight years, suggested a leading group of pediatricians. If diet changes do not help lower the cholesterol in young children, the medication should be started immediately said the doctors.

The American Academy of Pediatrics designed to prevent heart disease in adults issued new health guidelines keeping in mind the rise in incidence of cardiovascular diseases in adults.

"If we are more aggressive about this in childhood, I think we can have an impact on what happens later in life ... and avoid some of these heart attacks and strokes in adulthood," said Dr. Stephen Daniels.

The report recommends cholesterol screening for kids who are overweight, those who have other heart disease risk factors and those whose family history is not known.

Also, if there is a trend of cholesterol diseases in the family the inheritance is likely, and such children must undergo early screening for cholesterol. The group suggested that physicians should start screening children for high cholesterol between the ages of 2 and 10.

Too little amount of High-density lipoprotein (HDL) or good-cholesterol or very high amount of Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol must prompt the physician to advice cholesterol drugs.

The pediatric group has changed the guidelines for the first time in a decade, replacing the previous recommendations to consider prescribing cholesterol drugs in children over the age of 10 years, if they fail to lose weight in one year.

Obesity is a major predisposing factor for heart diseases and a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this year says that 30 percent of children in the U.S. are overweight, and thus prone to heart diseases.

“The report takes on a new urgency given the current epidemic of childhood obesity with the subsequent increasing risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus hypertension, and cardiovascular disease in older children and adults,” it said.

The academy also recommended low-fat milk for 1-year-olds, who have a family history of obesity or heart disease.