A new study has suggested that due to asthma among young children, they might lag behind their peers in developing reading skills in school.

But the reason for the gap is not only asthma, the findings, according to researchers, prove. But when it comes to reading, young children's ability can be affected due to the lung disease that makes them unable to keep up with their peers.

Through their first year of school, the study followed 298 New Zealand children.

It was seen that at the end of the year, just over half of the children with asthma had fallen at least six months behind their peers.

The possibility that children with asthma were more likely to be from low-income families was a condition included by the researchers while looking at a number of factors that could explain the gap. Other factors include having `poor readiness' for reading or have higher absence rates.

Lead researcher Dr. Kathleen A. Liberty, of the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, said, "We think our findings suggest that asthma and early reading achievement are linked in some way, which is as yet not explained."