{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,12]],"date-time":"2026-01-12T11:52:48Z","timestamp":1768218768454,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,12]],"date-time":"2026-01-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768176000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Objective: Current data on the association between attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and essential hypertension (EH) in pediatric populations are very limited, as most research has focused on adults. This study investigated the long-term prevalence of EH in Israeli youth aged 5\u201318 years with ADHD, examining also trends in antihypertensive medication use. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from Leumit Health Services. The ADHD cohort (N = 18,558) was compared in a 1:2 ratio to controls (N = 37,116), who were strictly matched for age, gender, birth year and quarter, socioeconomic status (SES), sectors, region, and cumulative years of LHS membership up to the index date. Diagnoses of ADHD and EH were identified using ICD-9\/10 codes, depending on the year of diagnosis. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the associations between ADHD, EH and the use of antihypertensive medications over a 20-year follow-up. Results: ADHD-diagnosed children had a higher prevalence of EH, with odds ratios (ORs) of 3.17 (95% CI: 1.46\u20137.16, p = 0.0017) at 5 years, 2.94 (95% CI: 1.45\u20136.09, p = 0.0013) at 10 years, and 1.92 (95% CI: 1.26\u20132.93, p = 0.0015) at 20 years. ADHD patients showed a greater use of antihypertensive medications, including calcium channel blockers (OR 1.85, 95% CI: 1.02\u20133.35, p = 0.035), renin angiotensin system blockers (OR 2.20, 95% CI: 1.15\u20134.25, p = 0.013), and diuretics (OR 1.77, 95% CI: 1.21\u20132.60, p = 0.0028). Conclusions: These findings highlight an association between ADHD diagnosis and EH, suggesting regular cardiovascular monitoring of children with ADHD. Further studies are needed to uncover the role of stimulant medications and shared biological and behavioral factors involved in the pathogenesis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13010107","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,12]],"date-time":"2026-01-12T08:20:37Z","timestamp":1768206037000},"page":"107","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Exploring the Association Between Attention-Deficit\/Hyperactivity Disorder and Essential Hypertension in a Pediatric Population"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5469-0236","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eugene","family":"Merzon","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel 4070000, Israel"},{"name":"Leumit Health Services, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6473817, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"May","family":"Poluksht","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel 4070000, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7244-0679","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shai","family":"Ashkenazi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel 4070000, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8353-0661","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ehud","family":"Grossman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel 4070000, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7713-423X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eli","family":"Magen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medicine Department A, Assuta Ashdod University Hospital, Ha-Refu\u2019a St 7, Ashdod 7747629, Israel"},{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheba 8410501, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Akim","family":"Geishin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leumit Health Services, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6473817, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0642-0028","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Iris","family":"Manor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Geha Mental Health Center, Petah-Tikva 4910000, Israel"},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Gray Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9765-8938","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abraham","family":"Weizman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Gray Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel"},{"name":"Laboratory of Molecular and Biological Psychiatry, Gray Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2406-6402","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Avivit","family":"Golan-Cohen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leumit Health Services, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6473817, Israel"},{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, Gray Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6997801, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shlomo","family":"Vinker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leumit Health Services, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6473817, Israel"},{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, Gray Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6997801, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9435-7152","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ilan","family":"Green","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leumit Health Services, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6473817, Israel"},{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, Gray Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6997801, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alexander","family":"Bershadsky","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leumit Health Services, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6473817, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4389-8896","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ariel","family":"Israel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leumit Health Services, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6473817, Israel"},{"name":"Department of Epidemiology and Disease Prevention, Gray Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6139001, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e994","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2014-3482","article-title":"Prevalence of attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"135","author":"Thomas","year":"2015","journal-title":"Pediatrics"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"789","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2021.01.022","article-title":"The World Federation of ADHD 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