UK families to get cholesterol tests
- added August 19, 2008
- 2 responses
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- merasyad
- added this
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- related topics
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- Earth and Science (13216)
- UK (5294)
- Health (5092)
- Child Health (25)
- Cholesterol (11)
- Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (1)
The UK is expected to endorse the screening of families for an inherited cholesterol disorder which increases the risk of heart disease.
Final guidance due next week is tipped to recommend that children of people with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) should be tested by the age of 10.
FH affects one in 500 people in the UK, or 110,000 people, yet only 20% of cases are currently diagnosed. Siblings and children of people with FH have a 50% risk of inheriting it.
FH causes unusually high cholesterol levels from birth and often goes unnoticed until an individual's 30s or 40s when the first symptom could be a heart attack. However, if identified, FH can be successfully controlled by diet, lifestyle and often using cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance is likely to call for the introduction of family screening or cascade testing.
Final guidance due next week is tipped to recommend that children of people with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) should be tested by the age of 10.
FH affects one in 500 people in the UK, or 110,000 people, yet only 20% of cases are currently diagnosed. Siblings and children of people with FH have a 50% risk of inheriting it.
FH causes unusually high cholesterol levels from birth and often goes unnoticed until an individual's 30s or 40s when the first symptom could be a heart attack. However, if identified, FH can be successfully controlled by diet, lifestyle and often using cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance is likely to call for the introduction of family screening or cascade testing.
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I think things like this are a great idea especially given the rise in obesity in kids.
Current user Janapokana linked to an item claiming that the parents of obese kids in the UK are gonna receive warning letters from the Department of Health.
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I know they are coming up with more and more home tests, but I wonder whether they actually make a difference in the number of illnesses that are diagnosed at a significantly earlier stage?
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- JanaPokana
- 3 months ago
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