health
Doctors encouraged to screen all youths for high cholesterol
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 21, 2011
Physicians should screen the cholesterol levels of all children at least once between the ages of 9 and 11 to help identify risk factors that could lead to cardiovascular disease later in life, according to new guidelines from a panel convened by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Doctors are encouraged to screen the levels of young patients again between 17 and 21, says the guidance, published online Nov. 14 in Pediatrics (link).
The new recommendations were developed by an expert panel appointed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The guidelines mark a change from 1992, when experts called for screening levels only in children with a family history of cardiovascular disease or high cholesterol.
For most children who are identified as having high cholesterol, physicians should recommend lifestyle modifications, including an improved diet and more physical activity, the guidelines say.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/11/21/hlbf1121.htm.
