Beware cholesterol drugs for kids, journal warns doctors

"Canada's top medical journal is warning doctors about giving cholesterol pills to children, saying there's scant direct evidence statins are safe for children and that doctors risk committing kids to 'decades of therapy.' Millions of Canadian adults take the cholesterol reducers to lower their risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics says the drugs should be considered for children as young as eight who have high concentrations of LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, the 'bad' cholesterol. But an editorial in this week's Canadian Medical Association Journal says statins haven't been widely tested in children, most studies involved kids whose high cholesterol is due to an inherited blood disorder - not obesity - and that only one study followed children for more than a year. The journal calls it the latest example of 'age indication creep' - giving drugs approved for adults to kids" - Canada.com