Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center recently discovered that children who have high blood pressure are much more likely to develop learning disabilities, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), compared to children who do not have high blood pressure.

By examining 201 patients who were between 10- and 18-years-old, the researchers found that of the subjects with learning disabilities, 28 percent also had hypertension. Meanwhile, only about 9 percent of the participants who did not have high blood pressure had cognitive problems.

ADHD was the most common learning problem, as 20 percent of the children with hypertension also had impaired cognitive functioning compared to only 7 percent who did not have high blood pressure.

Overall, the scientists found that the children who suffered from hypertension were four times more likely to also have a learning disability. Marc Lande, the research’s principal investigator, said that this discovery will hopefully “tease out the potential risk children with hypertension have for learning difficulties at a time when learning is so important.”

Approximately 4.5 million children who are between the ages of 5 and 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD, according to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).