Panel Recommends Universal Cholesterol Screening for Kids

Parents killing their kids.

An expert panel is recommending that all children, regardless of family history, undergo universal screening for elevated cholesterol levels. The panel recommends that children undergo lipid screening for nonfasting non–HDL-cholesterol levels or a fasting lipid panel between the ages of 9 and 11 years followed by another full lipid screening test between 18 and 21 years of age.

The guidelines, from the Expert Panel on Integrated Guidelines for Cardiovascular Health and Risk Reduction in Children and Adolescents, appointed by the National Health, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), also recommend measuring fasting glucose levels to test for diabetes in children 10 years of age (or at the onset of puberty) who are overweight with other risk factors, including a family history, for type 2 diabetes mellitus.

"The goal of the expert panel was to develop comprehensive evidence-based guidelines that address the known risk factors for cardiovascular disease to assist all primary pediatric care providers in both the promotion of cardiovascular health and the identification and management of specific risk factors from infancy into young adult life," write panel chair Dr Stephen Daniels (University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver) and colleagues in Pediatrics.

Fat kids are at greatest risk.

And who has fat kids?

Generally, fat parents do.