Temporal trends in lipid screening and therapy among youth from 2002 to 2012

•Detection of dyslipidemias and use of lipid-lowering medicine was examined in youth.•Lipid testing declined over time.•And yet more severe and moderate dyslipidemias were detected.•But pharmacotherapy did not increase.•The gap between detection and treatment deserves more investigation.

BackgroundPediatric lipid management recommendations have evolved from selective screening to universal screening to identify and target therapy for genetic dyslipidemias. Data on the success of the selective screening guidelines for lipid testing, dyslipidemia detection, and lipid management are conflicting.ObjectiveTo determine temporal trends in lipid testing, dyslipidemia categories and pharmacotherapy in a cohort of 653,642 individual youth aged 2 to 20 years from 2002 to 2012.MethodsSummary data on lipid test results, lipid-lowering medicine (LLM) dispensings, and International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision diagnoses were compiled from the virtual data warehouses of 5 sites in the Cardiovascular Research Network. Temporal trends were determined using linear regression.ResultsAmong the average 255,160 ± 25,506 children enrolled each year, lipid testing declined from 16% in 2002 to 11% in 2012 (P < .001 for trend). Among the entire population, the proportion newly detected each year with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol >190 mg/dL, a value commonly used to define familial hypercholesterolemia, increased over time from 0.03% to 0.06% (P = .03 for trend). There was no significant change over time in the proportion of the yearly population initiated on LLM or statins specifically (0.045 ± 0.009%, P = .59 [LLM] and 0.028 ± 0.006%, P = .25 [statin]).ConclusionsAlthough lipid testing declined during 2002 to 2012, the detection of familial hypercholesterolemia–level low-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased. Despite this increased detection, pharmacotherapy did not increase over time. These findings highlight the need to enhance lipid screening and management strategies in high-risk youth.

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