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Family History Fails to Identify Many Children With Severe Hypercholesterolemia
Thomas J. Stare, MD;
Peter F. Belamarich, MD;
Steven Shea, MD;
Beth E. Dobrin-Seckler, RD;
Ralph B. Dell, MD;
Welton M. Gersony, MD;
Richard J. Deckelbaum, MD
Am J Dis Child. 1991;145(1):61-64.
Abstract
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• Optimal strategies for identifying children with hypercholesterolemia have not been established. Several groups have advocated that testing of serum cholesterol levels be limited to those children who have family histories of hyperlipidemia or premature coronary heart disease. We studied the ability of comprehensive family histories to identify children with hyperlipidemia in a group of 114 children (mean age, 8 ± 4 years) who were referred for treatment of hypercholesterolemia. A positive family history was defined according to guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The mean fasting total cholesterol in the children was 5.74 ± 1.42 mmol/L (222 mg/dL). Family history was negative for hypercholesterolemia or premature coronary heart disease in 22 (22%) of 100 children with total cholesterol levels greater than the 75th percentile for their ages, in 13(18.3%) of 71 children with total cholesterol levels greater than the 95th percentile for their ages, and in four (11.8%) of 34 children with presumed heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. Of the 78 children who had both hypercholesterolemia and positive family histories, hyperlipidemia was reported in 72 families, whereas premature heart disease was reported in only 27. We conclude that in a population of children referred because of known hypercholesterolemia, a detailed family history not only fails to identify many children with mild hypercholesterolemia, but also fails to identify a significant proportion of children with markedly elevated cholesterol levels. Additionally, in families of children with hypercholesterolemia, a history of hyperlipidemia is more common than a history of premature heart disease.
(AJDC. 1991;145:61-64)
Author Affiliations
From the Divisions of Pediatric Cardiology (Drs Stare and Gersony) and Gastroenterology and Nutrition (Drs Belamarich, Deckelbaum, and Dell and Ms Dobrin-Seckler) of the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Medicine and School of Public Health (Dr Shea), Children's Cardiovascular Health Center, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY.
Footnotes
Accepted for publication March 5,1990.
Presented in part at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association, New Orleans, La, November 12,1989.
Reprint requests to Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, Babies Hospital, Room 102A, 630 W 168th St, New York, NY 10032 (Dr Stare).
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