A study reveals the relationship of gas stoves to asthma in children

A new study finds that tens of thousands of cases of asthma in children are linked to exposure to stove gas and propane (used as a fuel in liquefied petroleum gas).

The research team, in California and Boston, measured levels of an air pollutant, “nitrogen dioxide,” in more than 100 American kitchens while the stoves were running, and then analyzed how the chemical pollutant spread to other rooms after the stoves were turned off.

The team combined the data with figures from the US Energy Information Administration showing how often people used their stoves, which helped estimate the extent of exposure to the toxic gas annually.

They found that stoves using gas and propane increase annual exposure to nitrogen dioxide by 4 parts per billion, contributing to about 50,000 cases of asthma in children.

“Short-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide from gas stove use often exceeds WHO and US EPA standards,” the researchers wrote.

The World Health Organization's annual limit is 5.3 parts per billion for indoor and outdoor exposure.

“We found that poor people breathe more polluted air outside, and if they have a gas stove, they breathe pollution indoors as well,” said Dr. Rob Jackson, co-author of the study and professor of earth sciences at Stanford University. “People who live in public housing and slums cannot switch Stoves, because they don't have them or because they can't afford them."

Previous studies have also shown an increased risk of asthma in children as a result of exposure to gas and propane stoves. A 2022 report found that these stoves increase the risk of asthma in children by 13%.

Scientists from Purdue University and Indiana University also found that cooking on a gas stove resulted in greater exposure to harmful nanoparticles than inhaling car exhaust fumes.

However, research linking gas stoves to asthma has drawn criticism due to flawed methodology and lack of concrete evidence.

Nitrogen dioxide is a pollutant composed of oxygen and nitrogen, which is formed when fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and methane, are heated at high temperatures.

Nitrogen dioxide has been shown to cause increased inflammation in the airways, coughing, wheezing, decreased lung function and asthma attacks, according to the American Lung Association.

The study was published in the journal Science Advances.