HOUSTON (CBS Houston) – According to a recent study, one out of every three children between the ages of nine and 11 have borderline or high cholesterol.
Researchers analyzed data from 12,712 children. They found that 4,709 of the children in that age group have borderline or high cholesterol.
“The sheer number of kids with abnormal lipid profiles provides further evidence that this is a population that needs attention and could potentially benefit from treatment,” Thomas Seery, M.D., pediatric cardiologist at Texas Children’s Hospital, assistant professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, and lead investigator on the study, told Counsel & Heal. “But we can only intervene if we diagnose the problem.”
The study also found that boys are more likely than girls to have cholesterol problems. The researchers found that boys had more cases of high cholesterol. Girls tend to have low HDL, which is called the good cholesterol.
“Kids need to have their cholesterol panel checked at some point during this timeframe,” Seery said in a press release. “In doing so, it presents the perfect opportunity for clinicians and parents to discuss the importance of healthy lifestyle choices on cardiovascular health. Our findings give a compelling reason to screen all kids’ blood cholesterol.”
The findings will be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 63rd Annual Scientific Session.