Statins for kids? Not so fast, experts say

Putting children as young as 8 years old on statin medications to lower their cholesterol levels is worrisome without knowing the long-term effects of the drugs and dismaying when other avenues haven't been exhausted, two Massachusetts doctors say in today's New York Times.

“What are the data that show this is helpful preventing heart attacks?” Dr. Darshak Sanghavi, a pediatric cardiologist and assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, asks in the story. “How many heart attacks do we hope to prevent this way? There’s no data regarding that."

The American Academy of Pediatrics released recommendations on Monday that say statins could be used in children as young as 8 to prevent the development of heart disease later in life. Dr. David Ludwig, director of the childhood obesity program at Children’s Hospital Boston, acknowledges the difficulty of treating a child who already shows signs of cardiovascular disease. But he finds the larger picture troubling.

“My concern is what this is saying about society when we are so quick to prescribe drugs for these conditions before having systematically attacked the problem from the public health perspective,” he told the Times.