We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

LabMedica

Download Mobile App
Recent News Expo Clinical Chem. Molecular Diagnostics Hematology Immunology Microbiology Pathology Technology Industry Focus

Elevated Cholesterol Reported in Blood Tests on Children

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 28 Jul 2010
Print article
The concentration of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in the blood is a guide to the health of the individual. Increased LDL cholesterol is indicative of type 2 diabetes and early heart attacks.

The normal value of LDL for children ages 2-19 years is under 130 mg/dL. Serum concentrations of total cholesterol and triglycerides are determined using enzymatic procedures. Children are seldom checked for their cholesterol levels as screening them has until recently not been considered a priority.

In a study, 20,266 fifth-grade children, had blood taken and a lipid panel analysis was performed. The panel included total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL and, very-low density lipoprotein (VLDL) serum levels (Abbott, North Chicago, IL, USA). The LDL and VLDL concentration were measured after heparin–calcium precipitation and determined by densitometric (electrophoretic) ratio and cholesterol content of the two lipoproteins.

The study found that among the 11-year-olds who met current cholesterol screening guidelines, 8.3% had LDL cholesterol levels of 130 mg/dL or higher, and 1.2% had LDL cholesterol levels of 160 mg/dL or higher. Among the 11-year-olds who would not have been screened under current guidelines, 9.5% had LDL cholesterol levels of 130 mg/dL or higher and 1.7% had LDL cholesterol levels of 160 mg/dL or higher.

More than 70% of the 20,266 children who were screened would have qualified for routine cholesterol screening, according to current U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP; Bethesda, MD, USA) guidelines. But even more surprising was how many children had high cholesterol even though they would not have qualified for routine screening. The study was performed at the West Virginia University, (West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA).

William Neal, MD, professor of pediatrics at West Virginia University, said, "A lot of parents told us they did not even know children had cholesterol, let alone high cholesterol. Just as many children who would not have been screened ended up with severely high cholesterol levels as in the group that did qualify for screening based on family history.” One in three children with dangerously high cholesterol is missed by current screening recommendations. The study was published in July 2010 in Pediatrics.

Related Links:
Abbott
U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program
West Virginia University


Gold Member
Troponin T QC
Troponin T Quality Control
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Total 25-Hydroxyvitamin D₂ & D₃ Assay
25-OH-VD Reagent Kit
New
Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Virus Test
Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Virus Detection Kit

Print article

Channels

Immunology

view channel
Image: The cancer stem cell test can accurately choose more effective treatments (Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The lab-in-tube assay could improve TB diagnoses in rural or resource-limited areas (Photo courtesy of Kenny Lass/Tulane University)

Handheld Device Delivers Low-Cost TB Results in Less Than One Hour

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, affecting an estimated 10 million people annually. In 2021, about 4.2 million TB cases went undiagnosed or unreported, mainly due to... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The UV absorbance spectrometer being used to measure the absorbance spectra of cell culture samples (Photo courtesy of SMART CAMP)

Novel UV and Machine Learning-Aided Method Detects Microbial Contamination in Cell Cultures

Cell therapy holds great potential in treating diseases such as cancers, inflammatory conditions, and chronic degenerative disorders by manipulating or replacing cells to restore function or combat disease.... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: The HIV-1 self-testing chip will be capable of selectively detecting HIV in whole blood samples (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Disposable Microchip Technology Could Selectively Detect HIV in Whole Blood Samples

As of the end of 2023, approximately 40 million people globally were living with HIV, and around 630,000 individuals died from AIDS-related illnesses that same year. Despite a substantial decline in deaths... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Sekisui Diagnostics UK Ltd.