Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
Background: Given existing evidence linking indoor gas combustion with potential health effects, we aimed to quantify from epidemiologic field studies the health impacts associated with residential gas cooking and unvented heating.
Methods: We evaluated and synthesized results from peer-reviewed epidemiologic studies that isolated associations between exposure to residential gas cooking and/or unvented heating and an unrestricted range of health outcomes. We focused on studies conducted since 2000 that cited at least one of five, well-regarded studies. We evaluated relevant studies and computed pooled effect estimates, where at least three studies contributed data, using random effect meta-analysis models with inverse-variance weighting.
Findings: We screened over 5,500 studies and included 22 with a total 96 effect estimates. 18 studies (82%) focused on children. Pooled analysis showed 1.29 (95% CI 0.98, 1.71) times the odds of asthma among those living in homes with gas stoves. With gas stove exposure we observed trends towards higher odds of asthma symptoms (pooled odds ratio 1.09; 95% CI 0.98, 1.21) and allergic symptoms (1.07; 95% CI 0.93, 1.23). With a 10 ppb increase in NO2 linked with gas cooking we found pooled odds ratio 1.56 (95% CI 0.89, 2.74) for asthma symptoms. Results remained robust across age groups, geographic location, length of follow-up, and proportion homes in the study with gas appliances.
Interpretation: Findings from epidemiologic studies conducted between 2000 and 2024 consistently demonstrate heterogenous effects with trends towards significant asthma-related health effects associated with indoor cooking stoves and unvented heating appliances.
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6291475
Recommended Citation
Bueno de Mesquita, Paul Jacob and Casquero-Modrego, Núria and Pontes, Erik, Meta-Analysis of the Health Effects of Gas Cooking in Homes. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=6291475 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6291475
Funding Sponsor
U.S. Department of Energy and by Roger Williams University Provost Foundation to Promote Scholarship and Teaching
Funding Number
DEAC02-05CH11231
Comments
This is a preprint article, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DEAC02-05CH11231 and by Roger Williams University Provost Foundation to Promote Scholarship and Teaching.