Prevention & lipidsCohort study
Cascade screening for elevated Lp(a) in relatives of children who visited the pediatric lipid clinic: yield of daily clinical practice
- Retrospective cohort study
- single-centre
Authors' conclusion
Our findings suggest that cascade screening using children as index cases is an effective strategy to identify asymptomatic relatives at risk.
Study context
- Population
- Children referred for suspected hereditary dyslipidemia to the Amsterdam UMC pediatric lipid clinic (1989–2023) and their relatives732 indexes · 1,199 relatives
- Participants
- 1,931 children
- Exposure
- Systematic vs opportunistic cascade screening from child index cases
- Systematicn = 316
- Opportunisticn = 732
- Outcome
- Number needed to screen (NNS) to identify relatives with elevated Lp(a) (≥30 mg/dL or ≥75 nmol/L)
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
NNS to identify a relative with elevated Lp(a)
Systematic
3.7
Number needed to screen (NNS) · 95% CI 3.3–4.3
Opportunistic
4.1
NNS · 95% CI 3.8–4.6
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
NNS
| Outcome | Systematic | Opportunistic |
|---|---|---|
| NNS, FH subgroup | 3.9 (95% CI 3.4–4.5) | 4.3 (95% CI 3.9–4.8) |
Elevated Lp(a), all children
- Children with elevated Lp(a)
- 480 (25%)
Original publication
Cascade screening for elevated Lp(a) in relatives of children who visited the pediatric lipid clinic: yield of daily clinical practice. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 24 March 2026. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwag161
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it