TUESDAY, Dec. 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Regularly eating cured meats such as ham and salami might aggravate asthma, researchers report.

Looking at close to 1,000 people with the respiratory disease, French researchers found that those who ate the most processed and cured meats were 76 percent more likely to see their asthma symptoms worsen over time compared to those who ate the least.

These symptoms include trouble breathing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, according to the report.

Cured meats are high in chemicals called nitrites to keep them from spoiling. These meats have been linked to a higher risk of other chronic diseases, including cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In addition, they were recently classified as carcinogenic, or cancer-causing, by the World Health Organization (WHO), said the study's lead researcher, Dr. Zhen Li.

"But there remains a gap regarding the spread of knowledge about the harms of processed meat from the research community to the public," said Li, who is with Inserm Paul Brousse Hospital in Villejuif, France.

Li cautioned that this study cannot prove that eating cured meats makes asthma worse, only that an association exists.

Still, "public health strategies are warranted to reduce cured and processed meat intake," Li said.

Asthma affects 235 million people worldwide, according to the WHO. Common triggers include: indoor allergens, such as dust mites and pet dander; outdoor allergens, such as pollen; tobacco smoke; and chemical irritants in the workplace.

Dr. Len Horovitz is a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

"While no firm conclusion can be drawn [from this study], there appears to be a correlation of worsening asthma symptoms and processed and cured meat," said Horovitz, who wasn't involved in the research.

"One would have to wonder whether salt or preservatives used in processing meats might be responsible for this phenomenon," he said.

For the study, Li and colleagues collected data on more than 2,000 people who took part in a French study that tracked the health of people with asthma and their close relatives for more than 20 years.