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Regular doctor checkups can help keep blood pressure at bay, according to a new study.

New research reveals that people who go see their doctor at least twice a year were 3.2 times more likely to keep their blood pressure under control than those who saw their physician once a year or less.

Other factors like having healthcare insurance and getting treated for high cholesterol also improved chances of keeping blood pressure in check.

Researchers said the findings also applied to obese people. Researchers said that obese people who see their doctors at least twice a year are significantly more likely to keep their blood pressure under control, "probably because doctors recognize the need to control risk factors and may be quicker to give them blood pressure medications," study author Dr. Brent M. Egan, M.D., a professor of medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Greenville and senior medical director of the Care Coordination Institute, said in a news release.

The study involved data from 37,000 adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who had their blood pressure checked in 1999-2012.

Researchers said the findings held true even after controlling for diabetes, health insurance, body mass index, smoking and other factors.

The latest findings were published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.