Dados do Trabalho

Título

EFFECTS OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION DURING PREGNANCY ON MATERNAL BEHAVIOR – A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF PRECLINICAL DATA

Introdução

Previous studies have hypothesized that sleep deprivation during pregnancy might lead to impairment into mother-infant relationship and postpartum depression. Multiples studies have been conducted in preclinical models of sleep deprivation and maternal behavior, as a way to evaluate the mechanisms behind this relationship. However, the data raised so far in animal studies are internally inconsistent.

Objetivo

Based on that, we aimed at conducting a preclinical systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating the effects of experimental sleep deprivation during pregnancy on maternal behavior in animals.

Métodos

A bibliographic search was conducted in five databases: Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, Psychinfo and Lilacs. Search strategy encompassed three domains: sleep deprivation during pregnancy (as intervention), maternal behavior (as outcomes) and animals (as population). Studies were selected in a two steps process, first based on titles and abstracts, followed by full text analysis and data extraction. Individual effect size for each articles was calculated using standardized mean difference and meta-analysis was conducted using a random effects model.

Resultados

After bibliographic search, 144 non-duplicated articles were included in our initial data screening. Sample was reduced to six records after screening and analyses. A meta-analysis was performed, including data from either the pup retrieval test (latency to retrieve the last pup) and ethogram-derived maternal variables (maternal score or licking and grooming frequency), including 115 animals. No effect was observed regarding the impact of sleep deprivation during pregnancy on maternal behavior (-0.14 [-0.52; 0.23], p=0.57).

Conclusões

Despite clinical data point to an increased likelihood of postpartum depression and impaired mother-infant relationship, preclinical data failed to replicate this effect, demonstrating that gestational impaired sleep does not change maternal behavior. This might reinforce the importance of social and cultural factors into the sleep deprived-dependent postpartum depression in human beings, since these factors are absent in rodents. When not affected by these additional factors, maternal behavior seem to be maintained even in face of environmental stress. This behavioral maintenance might be part of an adaptive behavior, assuring maternal behavior to be properly displayed even in adverse conditions, assuring the viability and survival of the offspring.

Palavras-chave

Sleep restriction, maternal care, pregnancy