Bad Cholesterol Common in Young Adults

(July 20, 2010) - People in their 20's and 30's tend to think they are pretty healthy, but it would be a good idea to have things like blood pressure and cholesterol checked. (Read about "Hypertension: High Blood Pressure" "Cholesterol") Less than half of young adults get cholesterol screening even though up to a quarter of them have elevated cholesterol, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The rate of elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), commonly known as bad cholesterol, among young adults ranges from 7 percent to 26 percent, the study says. However, the screening rate among this age group is less than 50 percent, regardless of the number of individual risk factors, it says.

Preventive guidelines for cholesterol screening among young adults differ, but CDC says experts agree on the need to screen young adults who are at increased risk of coronary heart disease. (Read about "Coronary Heart Disease") The researchers say the report identifies the need to improve screening for and management of high LDL-C among young adults. Elevated LDL-C is a leading cause of heart disease.

Approximately 55 percent of American young adults (men aged 20 to 35 years; women aged 20 to 45 years) have at least one risk factor for coronary heart disease, such as high blood pressure, smoking, family history or obesity, according to the CDC study. (Read about "Heart Risks" "Quit Smoking" "Family Health History" "Obesity")

"What's surprising and, quite frankly, rather concerning, is that we are doing such a poor job of identifying young adults in America who have elevated LDL-C, " said Dr. Elena Kuklina, a nutritional epidemiologist with the CDC Division for Heart disease and Stroke Prevention and lead author of the study.

The CDC study found elevated LDL-C levels in 7 percent of young adults with no other risk factors, 12 percent with one other risk factor, and 26 percent with two or more other risk factors.

Related Information:

    Women's Health Check-up List

    Men's Health Check-up List