Cholesterol Drugs For Kids Recommended

Study Strongly Suggests Some Children Receive Medication To Stem Future Heart Problems

(CBS/AP)  For the first time, an influential doctors group is recommending that some children as young as 8 be given cholesterol-fighting drugs to ward off future heart problems.

It is the strongest guidance ever given on the issue by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which released its new guidelines Monday. The academy also recommends low-fat milk for 1-year-olds and wider cholesterol testing.

Dr. Stephen Daniels, of the academy's nutrition committee, says the new advice is based on mounting evidence showing that damage leading to heart disease, the nation's leading killer, begins early in life.

It also stems from recent research showing that cholesterol-fighting drugs are generally safe for children, Daniels said.

Several of these drugs are approved for use in children and data show that increasing numbers are using them.

"If we are more aggressive about this in childhood, I think we can have an impact on what happens later in life ... and avoid some of these heart attacks and strokes in adulthood," Daniels said. He has worked as a consultant to Abbott Laboratories and Merck & Co., but not on matters involving their cholesterol drugs.

Drug treatment would generally be targeted for kids at least 8 years old who have too much LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, along with other risky conditions, including obesity and high blood pressure.

For overweight children with too little HDL, the "good" cholesterol, the first course of action should be weight loss, more physical activity and nutritional counseling, the academy says.

At Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., pediatric cardiologist Craig Sable is seeing kids as young as 5 and 6 with cholesterol problems, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes

"I think the sheer number of children that are overweight, are less active, and have significant levels of cholesterol has grown exponentially since I started practicing 13 years ago," Dr. Sable said.

Pediatricians should routinely check the cholesterol of children with a family history of inherited cholesterol disease or with parents or grandparents who developed heart disease at an early age, the recommendations say. Screening also is advised for kids whose family history isn't known and those who are overweight, obese or have other heart disease risk factors.

Screening is recommended sometime after age 2 but no later than age 10, at routine checkups.

The academy's earlier advice said cholesterol drugs should only be considered in children older than 10 after they fail to lose weight. Its previous cholesterol screening recommendations also were less specific and did not include targeted ages for beginning testing.

CBS News medical correspondent Emily Senay says that it is likely there will be some controversy surrounding the safety of using statins and other cholesterol-fighting drugs on such young patients.

"There have been recent studies done on children that suggest they are safe," Senay said on CBS News' The Early Show, "but I imagine a lot of people are going to have a problem with that in that these drugs have not be studied long-term in children."

Dr. John LaRosa, who studies statins, told Cordes that he's surprised by the new guidelines.

"We have very little evidence that it does any good to start lowering cholesterol with drugs in children to prevent something that might not happen for 20 or 30 years down the line," Dr. LaRosa said.

Because obesity is a risk factor for heart disease and often is accompanied by cholesterol problems, the academy recommendations say low-fat milk is appropriate for 1-year-olds "for whom overweight or obesity is a concern."

Daniels, a pediatrician in the Denver area, agreed that could include virtually all children. But he said doctors may choose to offer the new milk advice only to 1-year-olds who are already overweight or have a family history of heart problems.

The academy has long recommended against reduced-fat milk for children up to age 2 because saturated fats are needed for brain development.

"But now we have the obesity epidemic and people are thinking maybe this isn't such a good idea," said Dr. Frank Greer of the University of Wisconsin, co-author of the guidelines report, which appears in the July edition of Pediatrics, the group's medical journal.

Very young children are increasingly getting fats from sources other than milk and Greer said the updated advice is based on recent research showing no harm from reduced-fat milk in these youngsters.

With one-third of U.S. children overweight and about 17 percent obese, the new recommendations are important, said Dr. Jennifer Li, a Duke University children's heart specialist.

"We need to do something to stem the tide of childhood obesity," Li said.

Li said that 15 years ago most of her patients with cholesterol problems had an inherited form of cholesterol disease not connected to obesity.

"But now they're really outnumbered" by overweight kids with cholesterol problems and high blood pressure, she said.

Dr. Elena Fuentes-Afflick, a pediatrics professor at the University of California at San Francisco, also praised the new advice but said some parents think their kids will outgrow obesity and cholesterol problems, and might not take it seriously.

"It's hard for people to really understand" that those problems in childhood can lead to serious health consequences in adulthood, Fuentes-Afflick said.

[hamiltongrad]

Moms and Dads - just don''t buy junk food. Don''t buy food with ingredients that are a mile long.
No Corn Syrup. Should be banned.

[future121]

getting rid of cholestral is treating the symtom not he diease. Remember when we did blood letting as a treatment for diease? I have little faith in its treatment. It is just masking some other illness. Overweight people all have this issue but no one treats the reason they are overweight.

[oigen]

Cholesterol a most essential substance for life and limb is not a cause of heart disease and least of all obesity. Nor, as countless trials and studies have shown, will gobbling statins reduce risk of mortality from heart disease whatever the cholesterol level is. Unless your cholesterol is outrageously high there is no need to fool with it''s levels and even that is debatable. The public has been duped so long about cholesterol, saturated fat and statin gobbling that everyones drinking water is now laced with the stuff. Time to get Pwizer to Pfizer and the rest of the pill mongers and dispatch statins to where they belong, the garbage, thus freeing up precious medical funds for real medicines. See cholesterol con here..http://tinyurl.com/39g4w3.. and cholesterol myths here..http://tinyurl.com/67s4ba

[goldesprit]

Read the first 20 pages of the book:
"Overdosed America" by John Abramson-- and you will know that statin drugs were deliberately spun to seem safe and necessary.

The original studies, published in supposedly reputable journals, contained figures, statistics,and info that did not at all actually support the ...conclusions arrived at in the same published articles.

[carlylaine]

Isn''t this great? Hell, we can have all of our children addicted to something or take meds so that if they try to get off the meds they die or become extremely ill. But no POT no natural herb for adults....it''s bad for you...

I have a major F word to say.. And I hold my middle finger up to the FDA.

[dmhphils]

I live in the Philippines, and until all the fast food joints started popping up over here, all the kids were skinny. But now the ones who can afford it, bring their kids to Mcdos, or one of the other fast food places, and we are starting to see fat Filipino kids. Imagine thinking that you have arrived because you frequent Mcdos.

[dmhphils]

This is another slam-dunk for the drug companies in the face of sensibility and just plain common sense. They would really like to hook the world on drugs for everything, and the country is no gullible, they suck it up and swallow the whole thing.

What......parents can''t control what goes in their little darling''s mouth because they have long since forgotten how to say, "NO!"

[drinuk]

MADNESS ! Billions of Dollars for the BIG PHARMA crooks, yet another Scam !

Time we Banned Aspartame, Corn Syrup and GM Foods

AND SillySite, The Majority do NOT trust the trained medical professionals who are in the clutches of Big Pharma, taking their favours over the health of the Nation, you too by your comments.

[bagag]

What are these doctors thinking of? Statin drugs are VERY harmful to brain and nerve function. Have a look at side effects. The internet is full of scary conditions caused by statins like amnesia, brain fog, senility and loss of nerve sensation in extremities, to name a few. Plus statins are NOT PROVEN effective! And they are not proven any safer for kids than they are for adults which they are NOT. Wouldn''t it be far wiser to go back to simple, nutritious foods and forget about the potentially harmful drugs? Better to allow them to die of a heart attack than to turn them into a retarded children.

[oneworldusa]

It used to be (in most instances) dad could work and mom could raise the kids and most people did just fine. So why does it now take two working parents to barely scrape by a very modest lifestyle? Corporate greed, plain and simple.

Advertising, preservatives, and convenience foods all contribute to the obesity epidemic.

[andor3]

it is interesting that people can vary in height, IQ, blood type, allergies, and so many chemical and physical dimensions. And doctors will defend it all as normal.

But when the cholesterol tests are done they apply the same number to everyone--a number determined largely by the drug makers. Even as they admit that genetics play a large role in all those variations, but pretend this one is different.

[fordcruise]

Oh I forgot. I once asked a Dr. if there was ever a study done on the effects preservatives have on cholesteral. In other words do preservatives in our food inhibit the body from processing and breaking down cholesteral and fat & pushing what it does not need out of our body? He said he had not heard of such a study. But that the theory sounds interesting.

[kenhamlett]

--SillySite--

I thought I would pop back in and saw your comment. Most people probably do trust their doctors. Unfortunately most people have misplaced trust. Most people are also too ignorant to make proper assessments of the advice given. Each instance of "most people" may differ somewhat but I suspect there is considerable overlap. In short most people are not equipped to separate facts from a sales pitch.
Starting with this article why not reread it, check out the side effects of Statins, find the dubious benefits and come back and tell us why kids should be taking these drugs. Why should we trade potential heart risk in the future for potential liver failure and other problems now? The liver is a very important organ. Why compromise it, even potentially?
Think of it this way. Either Couric is having fun just making up these stories for broadcast or there is something seriously wrong with the medical industry. Remember that C&C only reports these matters. She is not there to tell you to wise up and assess the info for yourself.
I really would like to hear your informed opinion of the content of this article.

[cyberus-2009]

----
The answer is EXERCISE not drugs!
Drugs are temporary bandaides.

Posted by guitar101253
----
When drugs paid for by insurance companies and/or government generate billions in profits every year .. they are not temporary bandaids anymore .. they are a cash cow and the sooner the cow starts giving the better.

[fordcruise]

Statin drugs have many side effects. Muscle pain & weakness, plus. This is a very dangerous drug. Should not be given to children. They are still growing & don''t need anything to interfer with muscle development. They are not going to feel like moving if they have sore & weak muscles. True some children are overweight. But don''t blame the parents alone, blame the schools that provide lunches full of fat, sugar, preservatives & hormones. All pre packaged, none homemade. I feel eating natural food, homemade, with as little to no preservatives, no antibiotics, no hormones, as little fat as possible is a better solution. Please read up on this drug and some of the studies. Get your children involved in sports & off the high sugar drinks, away from the tv & computers. My Mom used to give us juice (watered down)& made us go outside to play. Was it for economic reasons or did she know something we do not? We were all skinny. When I retired I started putting on weight. I have since gone back to the good old days of making everything from scratch, using the best products I can find and guess what? My weight started falling off like crazy. I am not eating less, I am eating healthier. I also grow some of my vegies, all organic. Real easy to do. The only spray I use if garlic spray, the bugs hate it and it won''t hurt you.

[suzsword]

My son is ten years old, very thin, very active, very athletic. He has had high cholesterol since he was 10 and it seems to be rising. They cannot totally blame high cholesterol on obesity. He has just recently been tested once again and it is even higher than before. We do watch his diet, but in his case, I believe that he might need to be on medication.
Every case is different depending on the patient.

[andor3]

"the vast majority of Americans trust trained medical professionals..."

some Americans trust their doctors, and some doctors are trustworthy. My doctor advised against cholesterol lowering drugs in favor of natural alternatives, and dislikes prescribing drugs that are taken for life.

But many doctors have become pharma-shills and pill pushers, and those doctors are not worthy of trust. How long do these "experts" think they can continue to abuse that trust and still have anyone care what they advise?

[sillysite]

Wow. What a bunch of angry, anti-science, conspiracy-theory-loving people. Thankfully, the vast majority of Americans trust trained medical professionals over the nonsense proposed by most of you.

[colonieny]

38 % of single parent kids are over weight as compared to just 4 % in traditional MOM and DAD Families where the wife stays home to take care of the kids. If both parents work, the % shoots up to 21 %.

From Family Health Report AIS-T 2007

[colonieny]

Watch the VIEW and your KIDS GET FAT ?

Fire: Don''t blame me, or the facts.

And kudos for you taking care of your kids, as if that was something you are not expected to do. Just by being so dramatic about it, well, sorry, makes you sound a bit resentful and angry, about working "like a man". Is that so ?
All kids deserve to be taken care of. When colleges, feminists courses, TV news, feminists books, and the morning chat shows like the VIEW, downgrade marriage, men and woman responsibility to family structure or their kids and husbands, (what do you really want ? go for it girl ! ) well this is what you get. I know so many marriages that were just great, until the woman turned 40, and "wanted a change" a "new life" and was prodded to do so by phycologists and the society at large. Fine. But your very story shows, it is not greener on the other side, in fact, there is more work, more stress, and worse food for the kids, in general.
I am glad for your kids that they have a great mom. Most don''t make time for the kids, given their new lives, and dating - oooh-- and so they eat proc. foods, and get fat.
/////// MAC and CHEESE- don''t wait up for MOMMY ?