9 year old DD has high cholesterol and slightly high hba1c

[NCGrandma]

I think the latest research shows that cholesterol is largely genetic. Don't blame yourself!

I’ve been surprised by a number of threads/posters mentioning that their kids were tested for lipid levels starting in elementary school so I did some digging. It looks like the main motivation for widespread testing is to identify kids who have high cholesterol and/or triglycerides due to family history.

For medical guidelines nerds: The latest info from the US Preventive Services Task Force — often seen as the gold standard for screening recommendations — says there is not yet enough evidence to recommend for or against lipid screening before age 20. From the American Academy of Pediatrics, I found publications both for and against universal screening, but no official guideline. (Like most medical testing, there are always reasons to do tests based on individual medical situations — the guidelines are for routine widespread screening.)


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[TwinFoxes]

I’ve been surprised by a number of threads/posters mentioning that their kids were tested for lipid levels starting in elementary school so I did some digging. It looks like the main motivation for widespread testing is to identify kids who have high cholesterol and/or triglycerides due to family history.

For medical guidelines nerds: The latest info from the US Preventive Services Task Force — often seen as the gold standard for screening recommendations — says there is not yet enough evidence to recommend for or against lipid screening before age 20. From the American Academy of Pediatrics, I found publications both for and against universal screening, but no official guideline. (Like most medical testing, there are always reasons to do tests based on individual medical situations — the guidelines are for routine widespread screening.)

Is it not believed to be largely genetic? Or are you just saying it's not universally recommended to test for high cholesterol? Sorry for my confusion. (FWIW, I wasn't advocating testing kids...I don't even know if having HC as a kid is bad.)

[NCGrandma]

Is it not believed to be largely genetic? Or are you just saying it's not universally recommended to test for high cholesterol? Sorry for my confusion. (FWIW, I wasn't advocating testing kids...I don't even know if having HC as a kid is bad.)

Sorry — I got carried away. We all have areas where we don’t realize we’re being unclear. Let me try again:

Here’s my understanding:
1. High cholesterol in children is usually genetic.
2. Some people think all kids should be tested, not just kids who have a known family history.
3. Others don’t recommend universal screening of kids because there’s not yet enough information about whether this is worthwhile. (This includes an important advisory organization.)

For adults, of course, it’s much more complicated...




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[TwinFoxes]

Sorry — I got carried away. We all have areas where we don’t realize we’re being unclear. Let me try again:

Here’s my understanding:
1. High cholesterol in children is usually genetic.
2. Some people think all kids should be tested, not just kids who have a known family history.
3. Others don’t recommend universal screening of kids because there’s not yet enough information about whether this is worthwhile. (This includes an important advisory organization.)

For adults, of course, it’s much more complicated...




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Thank you!