News in brief - Nov. 21, 2011

Doctors encouraged to screen all youths for high cholesterol - Poll: Americans' health hasn't improved, and more services are needed

Doctors encouraged to screen all youths for high cholesterol

Physicians should screen the cholesterol levels of all children at least once between the ages of 9 and 11 to help identify risk factors that could lead to cardiovascular disease later in life, according to new guidelines from a panel convened by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Doctors are encouraged to screen the levels of young patients again between 17 and 21, says the guidance, published online Nov. 14 in Pediatrics (www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/cvd_ped/summary.htm).

The new recommendations were developed by an expert panel appointed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The guidelines mark a change from 1992, when experts called for screening levels only in children with a family history of cardiovascular disease or high cholesterol.

For most children who are identified as having high cholesterol, physicians should recommend lifestyle modifications, including an improved diet and more physical activity, the guidelines say.

Poll: Americans' health hasn't improved, and more services are needed

Most people don't believe the overall health of Americans has improved in the past five years and believe government should provide more health services, said a poll released Nov. 7 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.

The survey of 1,598 U.S. adults was conducted from Sept. 19 to Oct. 2 (www.rwjf.org/pr/productpreview.jsp?id=73474). Fifty-two percent of respondents said they prefer a bigger government providing more health care services, and 60% said increased investment in health and prevention would save money.

"This poll shows once again that Americans view spending on health and health care as an investment -- both for personal and fiscal purposes," said RWJF President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD.

Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed said they prefer a smaller government offering fewer health services, and 31% said more health spending now wouldn't result in future savings.