Cholesterol Drugs for Kids: New AAP Recommendations

I'm sure you have seen this blog by Tara Parker Pope by now or read about it from another news source, but I am a little slow coming back from vacation.

Cholesterol drugs for kids? I think this is a little ridiculous. When I was in grade school in the 80s, we had this thing called the President's Fitness Challenge (or Test?) - where all the students had to take this fitness test to see how you fared against the national average. That was only 25 years ago.

Do they still use this in schools? I agree testing for cholesterol is important, but how about diet and exercise instead of medicating children. We are so quick to medicate children for everything - can't concentrate, drug em, too fat, drug 'em. Shouldn't parents be a little more responsible in regards to their children's health?

I was diagnosed with high triglycerides and high cholesterol 14 months ago, and have been taking Tricor, and now Niaspan to lower my levels, and I have changed my diet. I am about 5 points from getting off the medications, luckiy, or the next step would have been a stain. From what I heave heard though, I wouldn't want to wish a statin on anyone, let alone a child.

This is a brief reporting on the AAP recommendation for cholesterol drugs for children from FirstWord by Bryan DeBusk:

The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday announced new guidelines recommending cholesterol screening and treatment options for children. According to the new policy, patients over 8 years of age with high LDL concentrations should be considered for cholesterol-lowering drug therapy.

The organisation recommended that children and adolescents undergo cholesterol screening if they have a family history of high cholesterol or heart disease, an unknown family history, or risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure or diabetes. Screening should occur between the ages of two and 10 years.

According to the new policy, patients over 8 years of age with high LDL concentrations should be considered for cholesterol-lowering drug therapy. Children under age 8 with high cholesterol should focus on exercise, nutrition and weight reduction, according to the AAP.

Stephen Daniels, a member of the AAP’s nutrition committee, said the guidelines are based in part on recent research demonstrating the safety of cholesterol-lowering drugs in children, and predicted that the new guidelines will result in long-term health benefits. “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," Daniels suggested.

Previous recommendations from the AAP stated that cholesterol drugs should only be considered in children older than 10 years if they have not been able to lose weight.