Screening and Management of Dyslipidemia in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

This review provides an overview of pediatric dyslipidemia emphasizing screening and treatment recommendations. The presence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in childhood poses significant risk for the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular events in adulthood. While atherogenic dyslipidemia is the most common dyslipidemia seen in children and can be suspected based on the presence of risk factors (such as obesity), familial hypercholesterolemia can be found in children with no risk factors. As such, universal cholesterol screening is recommended to identify children with these disorders in order to initiate treatment and reduce the risk of future cardiovascular disease. Treatment of pediatric dyslipidemia begins with lifestyle modifications, but primary genetic dyslipidemias may require medications such as statins. As pediatric lipid disorders often have genetic or familial components, it is important that all physicians are aware that cardiovascular risk begins in childhood, and can both identify these disorders in pediatric patients and counsel their adult patients with dyslipidemia to have their children screened.