July 7th, 2008
Pediatric market opened to statins
Remember when your son first saw you shaving and you gave him a razor without a blade to let him try it out?
Now you can share that love with your favorite statin — for real.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is issuing new recommendations today, suggesting that for kids as young as 8 with cholesterol levels over 190 which do not respond to calls for diet and exercise, statins are worth a try.
ZDNet Healthcare readers got their first hint of this back in December, when I covered a talk by Dr. Helen Hobbs at Emory, saying the risks of an American diet begin in childhood so starting statins early may be necessary.
While critics will gravitate to condemning the evil pharmaceutical companies, it’s the way we live, and the way we have our kids living, which is the real problem. The AAP recommendations specifically state that better diets and more exercise are the best course, that statins are a last resort.
Yes, if you have to give your kid a statin at 8 to prevent a future heart attack I think there is something wrong with your parenting. But should the kid pay for it with an early death? When it can be prevented?
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist since 1978, and has covered technology since 1982. He launched the Interactive Age Daily, the first daily coverage of the Internet to launch with a magazine, in September 1994. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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