According to a new study by Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, adults who are diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are more likely to develop dementia in their later years.

The research suggested that among the 3% American Adult population who have ADHD, the risk of developing dementia is nearly three times more likely.

Research showed that ADHD treatments may help reduce the risk of dementia because the study showed no clear uptick in dementia risk among ADHD patients who use psychostimulant medication.

“More than 3% of the adult U.S. population has ADHD, and most go undiagnosed,” said senior researcher Abraham Reichenberg, a professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City.

Although the research shows that there may be a link between ADHD and dementia, Reichenberg emphasized that the study doesn’t prove that ADHD causes dementia.

Throughout the study, nearly 109,000 adults born between 1933 and 1952 were studied. Throughout the seventeen-year study, 730 participants (nearly 1%) were diagnosed with ADHD, and over 7,700 (7%) developed dementia.

The study showed that 13% of those with ADHD developed in those with dementia and only 7% of others.

“Adults with ADHD have a substantially increased risk for dementia,” Reichenberg said. “Symptoms of attention-deficit and hyperactivity in old age should not be ignored and should be discussed with physicians.”