Researchers from New Zealand said a study suggests a link between acetaminophen and the development of childhood asthma and allergies.

Using data from more than 200,000 children in 31 countries, researchers found infants given acetaminophen-based pain relievers for fever were 46 percent more likely to develop asthma by age 6 or 7, ABC News reported Friday. Children given acetaminophen-based painkillers by the time they turned 6 were three times as likely to have severe asthma symptoms.

The researchers, however, said the findings may have been confounded by other factors. Lead researcher Dr. Richard Beasley of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand in Wellington said parents should continue to treat their child's high fevers with acetaminophen.

U.S. doctors also warned parents against throwing away their packages of Children's Tylenol. "Misrepresenting this will cause unnecessary panic," Peter Catalano, chairman of the department of otolaryngology at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass., told ABC News. "The science is absent."