But it’s not a fun bun fight.
Rather, it’s about the very serious matter
of when to start testing kids for cholesterol abnormalities.
The fight began when a few months back, an
expert panel recommended much more widespread screening of kids – even as young
as infants – for cholesterol abnormalities because of the view of panel members
that the sooner a cholesterol-related problem is treated, the better the
long-term outcome.
The problem with this advice, which sounds
so benign, is that in this medication-enraptured world, you can bet that a
large number of kids with even mid cholesterol abnormalities will quickly be
put on statin drugs to try to improve those abnormal levels, even though the
panel insisted that few kids actually need drugs (most would respond to the
obvious lifestyle adjustments of more exercise, better diet, and weigh
control).
And the kids will be on those drugs for
life, probably.
Further, there is really no proof that
long-term use of drugs in kids will make any difference to most of them nor
that these drugs are even safe: they have just not been studied enough in kids.
So happily, an editorial in the prestigious
journal, Pediatrics, has come out
very strongly with just such criticism of the panel’s recommendations, a view
that mirrors my own.
This panel’s advice is ridiculous.
What every kid – and every kid’s caregivers
– need to do is follow those simple lifestyle health habits.
And then, when a kid reaches early
adulthood, if his situation warrants it, only then should he or she consider
getting tested.
