Statins: Should they be given to children?

According to a report published last week, children as young as eight with high cholesterol should be put on statins.

This is the latest idea for tackling the ‘obesity epidemic’ and the fact that it came from the highly regarded American Academy of Pediatrics means many doctors will take the recommendation seriously.

“The drug has never been properly tested on children.”

However, the proposal has stirred up alarm in America as well as here in Britain. Professor Andrew Neil a clinical epidemiologist at Oxford University has said:

‘There are far too many uncertainties involved with giving children these drugs,’ ‘The way to help them is with lifestyle changes, getting them to eat properly and exercise.’ Statins can help reduce the risk of heart attack in adults who have already had one. But the advantages for others – such as those who have never experienced a heart attack, particularly women – is questionable. There is also risk of potential side-effects, muscle pain and mental problems such as memory loss.

With concerns over their use in adults, there are even greater worries about giving statins to children.

The drug has never been properly tested on children. Children are simply given a reduced dose according to their weight. No one has researched the risks of giving such drugs to children, whose bodies are still developing.

In fact, the controversy about giving statins to children has also highlighted an even bigger problem – the use of ‘adult’ drugs to treat children generally.

When your child is prescribed a medicine, you assume it has been thoroughly tested to make sure it is safe and effective. Not just because children are precious, but because their bodies don’t always respond in the same ways as adults.

The main reason studies haven’t been done is that drug companies don’t consider extra testing worthwhile, because the market for children’s medicines is not big enough.