Word: aap
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Making decisions about your health is never easy, and things get even harder when the choices involve children. That's why the latest recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to widen cholesterol-testing to include kids as young as 2 is shaking up doctors and parents alike. The academy is also urging doctors to consider treating young patients from families with a history of abnormally high cholesterol levels - a major contributor to heart disease - with medications known as statins...
...While the guidelines target kids with a genetic risk of abnormally high cholesterol, called hyperlipidemia, they could lower the bar for prescriptions - not just for these children but for any overweight youngster whose cholesterol is not in check. Within hours of the AAP announcement on July 7, parents took to the blogs, expressing shock and unease over the aggressiveness of the guidelines. Statins are not without risks; in adults, in rare cases, they can cause muscle weakness and kidney problems, and there are limited data on how statins affect children...
...Amid the uproar, the AAP is firmly defending the guidelines. "We think there will be more benefit than risk," says Dr. Nicolas Stettler, a committee member from Children's Hospital Philadelphia. Part of that risk could be a shift toward the quick-fix prescription and away from prevention programs involving diet and exercise to address obesity and surging cholesterol levels. Most pediatricians are wary of moving too quickly to medicate children, especially when the potential side effects are unknown. But it's certainly easier to scribble a prescription than it is to get young patients to eat better and exercise...
...infants, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) currently recommends a supplement of 200 I.U. of vitamin D per day, starting at two months of age for breastfed babies. Once infants are weaned to vitamin-D fortified formula, however, supplements are no longer necessary...
Meyers, a neurodevelopmental pediatrician with Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pa., wrote the AAP's new survey of research on managing the care of children with autism. His report supports intensive behavioral and speech therapy - at least 25 hours a week - beginning as early as possible. But, he concedes, there's a lack of rigorous, randomized research on what interventions work best. The report encourages pediatricians not to condemn parents who turn to alternative therapies, but to help guide them toward the safest and best-researched approaches. "Don't just dismiss it out of hand," says Meyers, "It's important...