Docs Say First Cholesterol Test Should be Done by Age 11?
- Posted on November 11, 2011 at 2:46pm by
Liz Klimas
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CHICAGO (The Blaze/AP) — Cholesterol tests are something 30 somethings think about — maybe 20 somethings if they have a history of heart disease. But a panel of doctors are saying tests should happen decades earlier.
An expert panel appointed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending in its new guidelines that every child between age 9 and 11 should be tested for high cholesterol so steps to prevent heart disease down the road can be taken sooner, if need be.
This could become controversial with regard to prescribing cholesterol-lowering drugs. The doctors are saying that odds are less than 1 percent of children would need the drugs and that those younger than 10 should not take medication to lower cholesterol unless the case is severe. In most cases, diet and exercise should suffice.
Until now, major medical groups have suggested cholesterol tests only for children with a family history of early heart disease or high cholesterol and those who are obese or have diabetes or high blood pressure. But studies show that is missing many children with high cholesterol, and the number of them at risk is growing because of the obesity epidemic.
They also advise diabetes screening every two years starting as early as 9 for children who are overweight and have other risks for Type 2 diabetes, including family history.
Autopsy studies show children already have signs of heart disease even before they have symptoms. By the fourth grade, 10 percent to 13 percent of U.S. children have high cholesterol, defined as a score of 200 or more.
Fats build up in the heart arteries in the first and second decade of life but usually don’t start hardening the arteries until people are in their 20s and 30s, said one of the guideline panel members, Dr. Elaine Urbina, director of preventive cardiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
“If we screen at age 20, it may be already too late,” she said. “To me, it’s not controversial at all. We should have been doing this for years.”
Doctors recommend testing between ages 9 and 11 because cholesterol dips during puberty and rises later.
The guidelines also say doctors should:
-Take yearly blood pressure measurements for children starting at age 3.
-Start routine anti-smoking advice when kids are ages 5 to 9, and advise parents of infants against smoking in the home.
-Review infants’ family history of obesity and start tracking body mass index, or BMI, a measure of obesity, at age 2.
The panel also suggests using more frank terms for kids who are overweight and obese than some government agencies have used in the past. Children whose BMI is in the 85th to 95th percentile should be called overweight, not “at risk for overweight,” and kids whose BMI is in the 95th percentile or higher should be called obese, not “overweight – even kids as young as age 2, the panel said.
“Some might feel that `obese’ is an unacceptable term for children and parents,“ so doctors should ”use descriptive terminology that is appropriate for each child and family,” the guidelines recommend.
The guidance was released online Friday by the journal Pediatrics and will be presented Sunday at an American Heart Association conference in Florida.
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drftrapani
Posted on November 14, 2011 at 5:19pmHow long will this cholesterol fraud continue?
Report Post »The first studies concerning the “cholesterol/plaque connection were done using rabbits who indeed could not handle dietary cholesterol. Those studies were refuted, but not until the drug companies got involved. But now, since “big bucks” are involved the fraud will continue.
Yes certain types of cholesterol (LDL) can increase mild plaque development, but even that will be prevented with sufficient anti-oxidants in the diet.
If you are interested in seeing the studies, write to me and I’ll send them to you.
drftrapani
Berrakuda2
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 6:29pmWhere could I get this info?
Report Post »Ella
Posted on November 12, 2011 at 8:35pmDo yourselves a favor and stay far, far away fom main stream doctors. You need cholesterol in your body. Those on stattins often have way too low cholesterol. Get an alternative or naturopath doctor.
Report Post »Unfortunately Health insurance doesn’t pay for them. Another scam run by the AMA. They don’t want you to be healthy. The doctors make money on the patients they put on statins(which is almost everybody who’ll listen) for repeat visitis to check you since you’re on a powerful drug.
oneshiner
Posted on November 13, 2011 at 1:31pmElla, you are absolutely right. Some high cholesterol is bad, mine doesn’t appear to be a problem. My ratio is always good, chol. is high. I’ve been keeping track of it for the last 35 years and no problem. High cholesterol is common in my family. My sister took the meds for a while and didn’t feel good taking it, so quit it, she‘s in late 70’s.
My son’s Dr. made him take a test to see if he had clogged arteries. Clean as a whistle. My mom is in late 90′s and has high cholesterol too. Don’t think it hurt her. She takes one med. for A-fib.
I have to actually fuss with my Dr.s about what I’ll take or not. Drugs are good if there is no other way to tackle the problem, but I‘m convinced natural healing is the way I’ll always go.
Too many drug companies like the money if they can push the pills. Funny, I used to have stock in 4 drug companies, and one major company had so many law suits over the years, I hardly stayed ahead of my investment.
Report Post »Go to some nursing homes and see old folks who are so overloaded with drugs. I made up my mind after seeing this about 40 years ago that I’d never rely on drugs to make me sicker than the illness. I realize there IS A NEED for some, but there are alternatives too. The down side, insurance companies don’t pay for it, nor does medicare pay. Thanks, I’ll pay my own..
AB5r
Posted on November 12, 2011 at 1:17pmThere is a whole school of thought, ignored by mainstream medicine partly no doubt due to the profits made on drugs related to this, that cholesterol level is not actually all that important.
Report Post »oneshiner
Posted on November 13, 2011 at 1:34pmRight, forget the high and low and look at the RATIO.
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on November 12, 2011 at 6:48amDid you know that if you have celiac disease, the first symptom a lot of times is really, really high triglicerides? I have high blood pressure, high cholestorol (controlled with medication), but I know I’ve been glutened when my triglicerides spike…same with my 21 year old son. My son’s triglicerides were something like 300, that’s how we knew he was cheating on his diet.
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on November 12, 2011 at 11:27amBe all you can be. Be part of the Machine. You can’t start early enough to support the pharmo-medical industry. Quarterly blood chemistry and blood pressure check ups. Prescriptions for cholesterol control, tests for genetic markers, pills for controlling blood pressure, prescriptions for exercise, diet and consequences for parents that may include state confiscation.
Yea, we see the light.
Report Post »AB5r
Posted on November 12, 2011 at 1:27pmRuler4, once Obamacare kicks in they will be cutting back on everything to cut costs. They have already started putting out stories about certain cancer screenings are aren’t really necessary per the study.
Report Post »The_Eye
Posted on November 11, 2011 at 6:53pmI see no problem at all with this (since it isn‘t a ’forced’ test). A test at 11 can save you thousands and thousands of dollars in medical expenses. Getting a head start on health isn’t a bad thing.
Report Post »Oh and calling fat kids fat is a good idea too. No more coddling and trying not to hurt feelings. If fat boy is fat, then he’s fat. Simple as that.
ENTP
Posted on November 11, 2011 at 9:08pmwell I wouldn’t call a gay man a ” ****Sucker” just because he is, I mean, there has to be tact somewhere doesn’t there.
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