Gas stoves associated with asthma among children, adolescents in Puerto Rico

Key takeaways:

• The odds for asthma significantly increased among participants who reported gas stove use vs. electric stove use at both study visits.
• This association persisted after adjustment for other environmental factors.

Persistent use of gas stoves was associated with new-onset or persistent asthma among children and adolescents in Puerto Rico, according to a study published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.

This association was independent of secondhand smoke, proximity to a road and indoor allergens, Yueh-Ying Han, PhD, MS, research associate professor of pediatrics in the division of pulmonary medicine, department of pediatrics at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues wrote.

“Gas stoves release indoor air pollutants and respiratory irritants that have been associated with asthma and asthma exacerbation,” Han told Healio.

Yueh-Ying Han

“A report published last year estimated that that 12.7% of current childhood asthma in the U.S. is attributable to gas stove use,” she continued. “However, this study did not include Puerto Rican children, a high-risk population in the U.S.”

The PROspective study of Puerto Rican youth and Asthma (PROPRA) included 406 children, adolescents and young adults aged 6 to 20 years, including 225 with asthma (average age, 9.9 years) and 181 without asthma (average age, 10 years).

The participants with vs. without asthma were more likely to be male (57.3% vs. 47.5%) and less likely to live in a house built in 1970 or later (72.2% vs. 81.8%).

Also, participants with asthma were more likely to report signs of mold or mildew in their home during the previous year (44.9% vs. 33.3%) as well as parental asthma (62.2% vs. 29.2%) and unhealthy diets (46.2% vs. 29.8%) than participants without asthma.

Participants underwent two study visits a median 5.2 years apart.

Overall, participants included 278 with electric stove use at both visits, 43 with gas stove use at one visit and 85 with gas stove use at both visits.

Asthma was reported by 60.5% of the participants with gas stove use at either visit, 61.2% of those with gas stove use at both visits and 52.9% of those reporting electric stove use at both visits.

“In this prospective study, persistent use of a gas stove over a period of approximately 5 years was associated with increased asthma in Puerto Rican youth,” Han said.

Multivariable analysis revealed a 2.45 (95% CI, 1.29-4.66) times greater odds for asthma among participants with gas stove use at both visits compared with participants with electric stove use at both visits. However, this lost significance when looking at participants who reported gas stove use at only one of the visits (OR = 1.13; 95% CI, 0.48-2.67).

The greater odds for asthma associated with gas stove use at both study visits persisted in analyses that adjusted for signs of mold or mildew in the previous year (OR = 2. 39; 95% CI, 1.25-4.55), houses built in 1970 or afterward (OR = 2.52; 95% CI, 1.23-5.2) and indoor allergen levels (OR = 2.81; 95% CI, 1.41-5.59).

“This association was independent of other known risk factors for asthma including exposure to secondhand smoke, house dust allergen and traffic-related outdoor pollution,” Han said.

There were no significant interactions between asthma and gas stove use based on the sex of the participants or unhealthy diets, nor were there any associations between gas stove use and changes in lung function, the researchers found.

Han called these findings significant as, to the best of the researchers’ knowledge, they are from the first prospective study of long-term gas stove use and asthma in Puerto Rican youth.

Further, Han said that these findings can inform improvements in outcomes.

“Given that this exposure is preventable, clinicians caring for children with asthma at high risk for asthma should be aware of these data,” Han said.

The researchers recommended the use of alternative cooking methods in households with children or, when these methods are not feasible, implementation of ventilation systems or air filters. The researchers also plan on continuing their work.

“Intervention studies examining impacts of adopting cleaner cooking methods and implementing mitigation strategies on childhood asthma can provide evidence-based strategies to address this public health issue and to create new policies and programs,” Han said.

For more information:

Yueh-Ying Han, PhD, MS, can be reached at hany2@upmc.edu.