(WQOW) - While high cholesterol is a health concern for adults, kids are being diagnosed with it as well.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as one in five children have an abnormal cholesterol count.
High cholesterol can increase the risk of heart disease, and while adults make up an overwhelming majority of patients who take cholesterol medication, there is an increasing number of children being diagnosed with it according to Dr. Amy Peterson, a cardiologist at UW Health.
If it's treated early, it could prevent serious health issues for the child when they're older.
"And what that is, is that is a severe elevation in cholesterol, that's inherited through the family," Peterson said. "And we know if we start treatment to lower cholesterol in childhood, we can prevent heart attacks and strokes in adulthood."
Peterson said a simple cholesterol screening can help in detecting high cholesterol in children. In 2011, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended children be screened for cholesterol by their primary care clinician between the ages of 9 and 11 and again between 17 and 21.
