Effects of short and long‐term environmental air pollution exposure on antioxidant defense and sleep in adult mice

It has largely been shown that air pollution can affect human health, but few studies have focused on effects on sleep parameters and antioxidant defense, aim of investigation of the present study. Male Swiss mice were placed in one of two chambers maintained inside them for 4 months until conception period. Mice were placed on the first chamber received air that had passed through an air filter (clean chamber) and the second received ambient air (polluted chamber), allowing us obtain groups with total exposure to air pollution, only gestational exposure and only gestational until weaning exposure. The experiments were carried out where the source of air pollution is predominantly automotive. Electrodes were implanted on animals permitting the assessment of the sleep–wake cycle. The activity of erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes ‐ catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase ‐ were quantified. Differences on sleep parameters between groups were observed only in animals exposed all life on pollution and we observed a diminished in paradoxical sleep time when compared to control group (p<0.05). Moreover, the activity of all antioxidant enzymes, were decreased on mice exposed to air pollution during gestational period (p<0.05). The results suggest that air pollution could affect sleep parameters and was capable to decrease the erythrocyte antioxidant defense. Finacial support: AFIP, FAPESP, CNPq.