A new study suggests that children with asthma are likely to have peanut allergy too. Unfortunately, most of them may be unaware because both conditions have similar symptoms, such as shortness of breath, sneezing and coughing.

A team of U.S. researchers looked at the health records of more than 1,500 children from Mercy Children’s hospital in Toledo, Ohio. They counted the number of peanut allergy diagnosis that was validated by a blood test.

The analysis showed that 11 percent of the children were diagnosed with peanut allergy. However, the majority, or 53 percent, of the children and their families were unaware of this condition because they never thought that the children had peanut allergy.

“Many of the respiratory symptoms of peanut allergy can mirror those of an asthma attack, and vice versa. Examples of those symptoms include shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing," Robert Cohn, study lead author from Mercy Children’s hospital, said in a press release.  

“This study demonstrates children with asthma might benefit from a test for peanut sensitivity, especially when control of wheezing and coughing is difficult to achieve."

The researchers recommend to physicians and parents to have the children tested for peanut allergy even if they think that it would yield a negative result as a precautionary measure. In the study, less than half of the children with asthma were tested for peanut allergy.

Cohn warned that peanut allergy can make asthma symptoms worse because it could make asthma medications less effective, LiveScience reported. 

Peanut allergy can also be life-threatening if not properly managed. Unlike asthma, there is no cure yet for this and other food allergies, and it can be a lifelong condition.

The study was presented on May 17 at the annual conference of the American Thoracic Society held in Denver.