Glucose and Lipid Metabolism Disorders

The Pediatric Endocrine Hypoglycemia Program cares for infants, children, and teens who have repeated, ongoing, or unexplained episodes of low blood sugar. Low blood sugar is a symptom, not a diagnosis itself, so our team works to find the underlying cause. These causes can include problems with insulin or hormone levels, certain metabolic conditions, medications, prolonged periods without eating, or illnesses.

Our program brings together specialists in pediatric endocrinology and genetics, along with nutrition experts and other pediatric specialists at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. By working together, the team provides comprehensive evaluation, treatment, and long-term care for children with complex hormone and metabolic conditions.

Children are evaluated for conditions such as congenital hyperinsulinism, ketotic hypoglycemia, adrenal insufficiency, growth hormone deficiency, hypopituitarism, and other endocrine disorders that affect glucose regulation. Because the brain depends on glucose as a key energy source, early recognition and prevention of severe or repeated low blood sugar episodes are essential to protecting health, safety, and development.

What to Expect

At the first visit, families can expect a detailed review of symptoms, growth and development, timing and pattern of episodes, feeding or fasting tolerance, medical history, and home glucose or ketone data when available. Care plans may include diagnostic laboratory testing, genetic evaluation when appropriate, home monitoring guidance, nutrition support, sick-day planning, and emergency treatment instructions tailored to the child’s diagnosis and daily routine.

The Program also emphasizes continuity across settings, including home, school, sports, travel, and illness. Our team works closely with your pediatrician and, when needed, partners across specialties such as genetics, metabolic medicine, gastroenterology, neurology, inpatient care, emergency medicine, and nutrition to help families manage hypoglycemia confidently over time.

For children with chronic endocrine causes of hypoglycemia, care extends from diagnosis through adolescence with a focus on practical self-management skills that grow with the child. As patients prepare for adulthood, the program helps families support independence in symptom recognition, monitoring, medication or nutrition plans, communication with schools and colleges, and safe responses to illness or missed meals.

Our Familial Dyslipidemia Program offers expert care for children and adolescents with inherited lipid disorders, such as familial hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, or combined dyslipidemia in both suspected or confirmed familial dyslipidemia.

This Program evaluates children with very high cholesterol or triglycerides, a family history of premature heart disease or stroke, a history of pancreatitis, or known inherited lipid disorders. Familial hypercholesterolemia is one of the most common inherited lipid disorders affecting an estimated 1 in 250 people in the United States.

What to Expect

Evaluation begins with a careful review of lipid results, medical history, family history, diet, physical activity, and any secondary factors that may influence cholesterol or triglyceride levels. When appropriate, care may also include genetic testing and screening to identify parents, siblings, and other relatives who may be at risk and could benefit from early diagnosis and preventive treatment.

Individualized treatment may include heart-healthy nutrition counseling, physical activity guidance, weight and metabolic health support, and lipid-lowering medication when clinically neccessary.

For children with severe hypertriglyceridemia, care also focuses on reducing the risk of pancreatitis through targeted nutrition strategies, close monitoring, and timely adjustments to the treatment plan. Early recognition and consistent follow-up are especially important because childhood lipid disorders can shape cardiovascular risk over decades, even when symptoms are not yet visible.

The Program is designed to give families a coordinated path forward through nutrition, primary care, genetics, and cardiometabolic collaboration as needed. The goal is to identify inherited lipid disorders early, reduce long-term cardiovascular risk, and help children and adolescents build durable habits that support lifelong heart health.