Last week, I talked about how the number of children diagnosed with ADHD has skyrocketed over the last few years, and posited some possible explanations for this phenomenon. While some might argue that ADHD awareness and overeager doctors contributed to this increase, a new study published in the journal Pediatrics finds that diet and lifestyle parallels the high rate of childhood ADHD cases today.
This study, which was done by researchers from University of Rochester Medical Center, looked at 201 children and adolescents between the ages 10 and 18. All children were referred the URMC’s Children’s Hospital hypertension clinic, and it was found that 101 had sustained high blood pressure or hypertension. We’re all familiar with how hypertension increases the risk of heart disease among adults but in young children, high blood pressure has a stronger impact on their mental development and functioning. Not surprisingly, 28% of the 101 children were found to have ADHD and learning disabilities.
Children with ADHD used to be excluded from studies like this because the medications they take may increase blood pressure. However, the researchers included ADHD children this time because they wanted to see if high blood pressure impaired their mental functioning. What’s interesting is that when ADHD was removed from the picture, hypertension was still related to a higher rate of learning disabilities in children. This suggests that high blood pressure may contribute to mental development problems among children.
Hypertension in infants is usually caused by problems with the kidneys or heart, or premature birth. With proper management, blood pressure normalizes during early childhood. However, at least 3% of children today have high blood pressure, and many of these cases are not due to birth complications. Many adolescents and teens with hypertension do not have other health problems, but they do have a family history of hypertension and live an unhealthy lifestyle characterized by excess weight, bad diet, lack of physical activity, and stress.
Fortunately, it’s not difficult to prevent hypertension in children, even if the child has a family history of the condition. These preventative measures are also often used as natural ADHD treatments:
- Regular exercise not only keeps ADHD symptoms at bay; it strengthens the blood vessels and helps control weight. Though organized sports is the most common way to get regular exercise, unstructured activity like running, biking, or skating also works for kids with ADHD.
- Avoid high-fat and high-sodium foods – the two culprits behind high blood pressure. Give your child healthy meals with low-fat products, fruits, vegetables, and fish.
- Supplement meals with omega-3 essential fatty acids from fish oil. For ADHD kids with hypertension, omega-3 fats serve a double purpose – it reduces ADHD symptoms by forming the structure of the neuron membranes and facilitating neurotransmitter communication, and it prevents hypertension by keeping blood vessels supple.
- Get a regular check-up. A child’s blood pressure naturally increases with age, and a doctor can tell if your child’s blood pressure is normal for his or her age, height, and weight.