Exposure to cooking fumes during pregnancy linked to higher risks of hyperactivity in children

Reviewed by James Ives, M.Psych. (Editor)Dec 4 2019

In pregnant women, exposure to cooking fumes was related to an increased risk of their children having hyperactivity behaviors at the age of 3 years.

The findings come from an Indoor Air study of 45,518 mothers of children who were newly enrolled in school in Shenzhen, China from 2015 to 2017.

Use of cooking fuels such as coal or gas during mothers' pregnancies was associated with higher risks of hyperactivity behaviors in young children when compared with the use of electricity for cooking. Poor ventilation during cooking was also linked with a higher risk.

The findings were relatively consistent across groups defined by social class, education, and other factors.