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A government panel last Friday came out with a recommendation for children to be screened for cholesterol early. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute released the recommendations -- for children between 9 and 11 to be screened once and again between 17 and 21 -- in order to help find those children who would normally fall through the cracks.
A recent study from a heart-risk screening program in West Virginia looked at 85,000 fifth-graders and calculated that 37% of at-risk children would have been missed based on previous guidelines, which recommended for children with family histories of cholesterol and heart disease to be checked. For these 37%, a warning like a high-cholesterol reading could be the difference between inertia and changing diet and exercise patterns. For this reason, the American Academy of Pediatrics joined the panel's new advice.
The recommendation is not without its detractors. The benefits of added tests have yet to be studied. Added screening may very well increase anxiety and lead to other, unnecessary testing. Besides, the tests are not free: each exam may run approximately $80 for the insurer, which might increase premiums.
But already, insurers are making moves to adjust to the new guidelines. Aetna and Cigna Corp are looking at ways to expand total coverage for child cholesterol screenings, while UnitedHealth Group already completely covers the tests.
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