ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have linked children's high blood pressure to higher risk for learning disabilities.
Researchers at New York state's University of Rochester Medical Center said after controlling for other variables such as socioeconomic level, children with hypertension were four times more likely to have cognitive problems than children without hypertension.
"This study also found that children with hypertension are more likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder," one of the study's authors Heather Adams said in a statement. "Although retrospective, this work adds to the growing evidence of an association between hypertension and cognitive function. With 4 percent of children now estimated to have hypertension, the need to understand this potential connection is incredibly important."
The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found 20 percent of the children with hypertension had ADHD. When ADHD was factored out, the rate of learning disabilities was still higher in those with high blood pressure versus children who were not hypertensive.
Adams and colleagues looked at 201 patients ages 10-18 referred to a pediatric hypertension clinic. Sustained high blood pressure was determined in 101 of the patients.
Overall, 18 percent had learning disabilities -- well above the general population's rate of 5 percent.
