CLEVELAND, Ohio – A new study by MetroHealth and Case Western Reserve University suggests that gas stoves can be detrimental to the health of those who suffer from “poorly controlled” asthma.
Researchers determined “that replacing natural gas stoves with electric induction stoves improved air quality and led to major improvements in asthma control” for such patients, according to a news release announcing the study, which was published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.
A major concern with gas stoves is their release of nitrogen dioxide inside the home. The pollutant can irritate the lungs, especially among asthma sufferers. It’s been reported that 1-in-5 residents of Cleveland have the condition.
“These findings suggest that a simple change in the home – switching from a gas stove to an electric stove – may lead to meaningful improvements in asthma control for people who are struggling with their symptoms,” stated Dr. Ash Sehgal, a MetroHealth doctor and lead researcher on the study. “People with poorly controlled asthma may consider transitioning away from gas stoves depending on their resources and circumstances.”
The study was centered on 85 adults and children whose asthma was “poorly controlled” and whose home or apartment had a gas stove. The participants lived in Northeast Ohio.
Asthma symptoms and indoor air quality were compared before the gas stoves were replaced and again two to three months later. After the stoves were changed out, the participants’ asthma symptoms improved as much or more than what’s been “reported in clinical trials of commonly used asthma medications,” according to the release.
Among participants, indoor levels of nitrogen dioxide decreased by 70%, and asthma-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations dropped by the same percentage. The number of work or school days missed because of asthma also plummeted.
At the same time, the vast majority of participants reported being “satisfied or very satisfied with their electric induction stove,” according to the release, while less than half felt the same about their gas stove.
It’s worth noting that the study was relatively small and short in duration and that there was not a control group who kept their gas stoves in order to provide a comparison.
“So, some of the improvements could have been due to other factors such as changes in medical treatment or changes in environmental exposures,” the release stated.
Sehgal, who is also a professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve, added that switching stoves may not help everyone. Those taking prescribed medications should continue doing so, while also reducing exposure to such things as dust mites, pollen and viral respiratory infections.
In 2024, under then-President Joe Biden, the U.S. EPA awarded MetroHealth a $17 million grant designed to replace gas stoves with electric stoves and make electrical upgrades in 1,200 homes where at least one person had asthma.
People living in Cleveland, Euclid, East Cleveland, Garfield Heights, Newburgh Heights, Warrensville Heights, Maple Heights, Akron and Canton were eligible to participate in the program.
But the following year, after Donald Trump became president, the grant was cancelled, with the EPA stating that it no longer supported the administration’s priorities. By that point, about $400,000 of the grant money had already been spent replacing gas stoves in about 40 homes and upgrading electrical systems for safety.
