Adolescent Perceptions of Cholesterol Screening Results: "Young Invincibles" or Developing Adults?

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Guidelines recommend cholesterol screening for all adolescents and young adults (AYAs) ages 17-21 years. Little is known about how screening results impact perceptions of AYA health.

Methods

We recruited 37 AYAs and 35 parents of AYAs with differing risk for abnormal cholesterol results: (1) familial hypercholesterolemia; (2) obesity; and (3) generally healthy. Participants completed quantitative health status ratings using visual analog scales (VASs) and semistructured interviews regarding three hypothetical cholesterol screening scenarios: (1) high likelihood of cardiovascular disease (CVD) before age 40 years ("high risk"); (2) some risk of CVD before age 70 years ("moderate risk"); and (3) low risk for CVD despite a strong family history of CVD ("low risk"). We a

SUBMITTER: Gooding HC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4958564 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature