London, March 4 (IANS) Moisture in the air and mould-infested houses may cause asthma in children, according to a latest research that has asked doctors to be aware of the link while treating young patients.

Poor housing conditions are already linked to the illness but there is debate whether they cause asthma, or simply trigger attacks.

A team of Finnish researchers including Juha Pekkanen from the National Public Health Institute in Kuopio surveyed the homes of more than 300 children, reported the online edition of BBC News.

Writing in the European Respiratory Journal, the researchers say they have found a clear evidence that mould and damp could cause asthma in children, as opposed to worsening or triggering attacks in children whose asthma had another underlying cause.

However, experts in Britain are still not convinced mould can cause asthma. Asthma is now the most common chronic disease among school-age children, and rates have risen steadily in recent years in industrialised countries.