Cholesterol disorder detectable in toddlers: study
Last Updated: Friday, September 14, 2007 | 10:14 AM ET
CBC News
Testing toddlers for high cholesterol when they are about 15 months old could help prevent heart attacks and strokes in the future, a new study suggests.
The study, published Thursday in the British Medical Journal, said toddlers found to have high cholesterol are likely to have an inherited cholesterol disorder called familial hypercholesterolaemia.
The disorder, which affects about one in 500 people, can cause adults to experience heart problems and strokes at a young age — men with the disorder can develop problems in their 40s, women in their 50s.
Dr. Mike Evans, a family physician based in Toronto, said parents shouldn't rush out to have their children tested immediately but the study is an important one to watch.
"The great appeal here is that you can get two generations by testing one person," he told CBC News on Friday.
He said if a child is found to have the genetic disorder, at least one of their parents must have it too, and may not have been aware of it.
The study suggests the mother and father of an affected child can take cholesterol tests themselves to determine which one of them has the highest cholesterol levels, and therefore likely has the disorder.
Once the disorder is detected, Evans said the child and affected parents can make lifestyle changes to combat the deadly health problems the disorder can bring.
Anti-cholesterol medications are another option, with the study suggesting that the affected parent can begin preventative treatment immediately, while the child can delay until adulthood.
Doesn't work on newborns, older children
The study notes there is only a small window in a child's life where a cholesterol test is effective for detecting the disorder.
It doesn't work in newborns and the older the child gets, the more likely their cholesterol results are to be skewed by their diets. The key is to find children with unusually high cholesterol that isn't related to the food they eat.
Children between the ages of one and nine could be tested, the study suggests, but it says it would be easiest to administer a simple cholesterol blood test when 15-month-olds are already getting their regular round of vaccines.
Evans said even waiting until a child is two or three years old to administer a test could increase the chances of having a false positive.
The study, led by British cardiologist Dr. David Wald, was based on an analysis of 13 other studies that focused on thousands of cases of the cholesterol disorder.
