Gas cooking emissions can stifle infant development, Jan 26, 2012
Vrihheid, M, D Martinez, I Aguilera, M Bustamante, F Ballester, M Estarlich, A Fernandez-Somoano, M Guxens, N Lertxundi, MD Martinez, A Tardon, J Sunyer; on behalf of the INMA Project. 2011. Indoor air pollution from gas cooking and infant neurodevelopment. Epidemiology http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/EDE.0b013e31823a4023.
Synopsis by Aimin Chen
Cooking with a gas stove at home during pregnancy may produce unexpected side effects on the baby’s neurological development, suggests a Spanish study.
Cooking with a gas stove is very common in developed countries, but pollutants – such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – released when the gas burns may be related to poorer infant mental ability, finds a study published in the journal Epidemiology.
The infants born to mothers who cooked with gas stoves had slightly lower intelligence scores at ages 1 and 2 than those in homes without gas cookers. In homes with gas, infant scores were better if there was an exhaust fan above the stove.
Even the small impact on infant intelligence reported in the study may have significant public health implications. Gas stoves are so common that these small decreases in infant intelligence may lead to more children with lower IQs and fewer with higher IQs in the future.
Concerns about indoor air pollution on infant cognition follows reports of effects related to outdoor air pollution. A prior study from Spain suggests home gas appliances have adverse effects on children’s neurological function at age 4. But, this is the first study to look at exposures during pregnancy and early infancy when neurological development is rapid and critical for lifelong health.
Gas stoves normally use natural gas, propane or butane as fuel. Burning can produce a mixture of organic chemicals, including NO2, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and others. NO2 is the most studied indoor air pollutant and is found at up to two times higher levels in homes with gas appliances.
To explore the relationship between home cookers and infant development, the researchers recruited more than 2,000 pregnant women between 2004 and 2008 in four regions in Spain. Participants were asked what type of cooker – gas, electric, or others – was used at home during the third trimester of pregnancy and whether an exhaust fan was used above the stove. The newborns’ neurological development was assessed between 11 and 22 months using the well validated Bayley Scale for Infant Development. The mental developmental index (MDI) is statistically equivalent to an IQ score in older children.
The researchers compared MDIs in infants from homes with gas cookers to those without. They adjusted for relevant socioeconomic factors, including sex, region, maternal social class, education, county of birth, housing type and baby’s gestational age at birth.
The infants with gas cookers in the home during the mother’s third trimester had slightly lower – about 2.5 percent lower – MDI scores when compared with infants from homes without gas appliances. Most used natural gas for fuel. The difference was seen regardless of social class and education.
Infants in homes without an exhaust fan had slightly more MDI loss. Infants tested after 14 months of age also had slightly more MDI loss, suggesting a lasting effect on infant development is possible.
However, exact exposures were not identified because the kinds and levels of pollutants in the homes were not measured. Other studies, however, report 1.5 to 2 times higher NO2 levels in homes with gas cookers.
Because gas cooking is common, future research should focus on more validated exposure measurements to examine the plausible association between pollutants and development.
Source-Environmental Health News
