Now, more kids are getting cholesterol drugs.
Published: July 13, 2010
by Scott Hensley
Researchers who screened 20,000 kids for high cholesterol in West Virginia suggest the time has come to start looking at the fat in all kids’ blood — not just those who have a family history of cholesterol trouble.
How come? The West Virginia team found 98 children among the nearly 6,000 who wouldn’t normally be tested for high cholesterol had cholesterol levels bad enough to warrant treatment with drugs. The results appear in the latest issue of Pediatrics.
Many cholesterol drugs, such as statins like Lipitor, are approved for the treatment of kids with genetically linked high cholesterol that can lead to early heart trouble.
Better diet, weight loss and exercise remain the first options for most kids with too much fat in their blood. Side effects, such as muscle pain, and limited data on long-term use of the drugs in kids are reasons to proceed cautiously with the medicines in children.
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"There’s no question that we’ve seen an increase in the lipid values in children, and that’s probably due to the obesity epidemic," Donald Pittman, a pharmacist who leads the cardiovascular drug group at Medco, tells Shots.
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https://m.npr.org/story/128483625oldId.20100715083936333
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