Light pollution increases morbidity and mortality rate from different causes in female rats

The influence of different light regimes (constant light, LL; constant darkness, DD; standard light regime, LD, 12 hours light/12 hours darkness; and natural lighting of the northwest of Russia (NL) on non-tumor pathology revealed in the post-mortem examination of female rats has been studied. It was found that keeping 25-days-old animals under LL and NL conditions led to an increase in the number of infectious diseases and the substantially faster development of spontaneous tumors (2.9 and 3.3 diseases per one rat, respectively), variety of nontumor pathology found in dead rats, compared with the animals in standard (standard light) regime (1.72 diseases per one rat). Light deprivation (DD) led to a substantial reduction in the development of new growth, as well as nontumor and infectious diseases (1.06 diseases per one rat), compared to the same parameters in a standard light regime.