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Should We Test Teens for High Cholesterol?
American teens may be at risk for problems once associated only with middle age.
Jan. 22, 2010— -- As many as one in five American adolescents has LDL (bad) cholesterol levels that are too high and HDL (good) cholesterol levels that are too low -- a fact that many doctors say means that it may be time to start regular cholesterol screening as part of back-to-school check-ups.
According to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American teens -- already identified as too often out-of-shape and overweight -- are also at risk for cholesterol problems once thought to be seen only in the middle-aged.
The CDC, which released the new cholesterol findings the Jan. 22 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, said high triglyceride levels are also a problem for adolescents.
The numbers come from a nationwide survey conducted from 1999 through 2006 known as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). This survey found that 20.3 percent of 12- to 19-year-olds had higher-than-normal levels of LDL cholesterol or triglycerides, or low levels of HDL cholesterol.
The findings are not shocking to doctors who treat teens, but as Dr. Joseph Zanga, a past president of the American Academy of Pediatrics said, "these numbers are more solid."
But solutions may be more difficult. "This problem is self-induced -- perhaps with some genetic predisposition -- and therefore can be self-corrected," said Zanga, who is chief of pediatrics at Medical College of Georgia in Columbus. "Americans must take major responsibility for their health. Diet, exercise [and] non-smoking lifestyle is what these children need."
Moreover, the numbers suggest bigger problems ahead for the American healthcare system, said Barbara Moore, president and CEO of Shape Up America.
"They suggest that 15 or 20 years down the road, when we expect these young people to be productive, hard-working adults contributing to society, they will instead be disabled, crippled by heart attacks, strokes and facing expensive treatments, surgery and rehabilitation. This is not a pretty picture."
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