Longitudinal profiles of the vaginal microbiota of pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal women: preliminary insights from a secondary data analysis

作者：Christina A. Stennett, Michael France, Michelle D Shardell, Sarah Jane Robbins, Sarah E. Brown, Elizabeth D. Johnston, Katrina Mark, Jacques Ravel, Rebecca M. Brotman · 发表于：Menopause The Journal of The North American Menopause Society · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1097/gme.0000000000002358 · 被引用次数：14 · 研究领域：Reproductive tract infections research、Gut microbiota and health、Urinary Tract Infections Management

OBJECTIVE: Menopause is often accompanied by lowered Lactobacillus spp. relative abundance and increased abundance of diverse anaerobic/aerobic bacteria in the vaginal microbiota due in part to declines in estrogen. These microbiota are associated with urogenital symptoms and infections. In premenopause, vaginal microbiota can fluctuate rapidly, particularly with menstrual cycles and sexual activity; however, the longitudinal dynamics of vaginal microbiota are understudied in peri- and postmenopause. We described vaginal community stability across reproductive stages. METHODS: Pre- (n = 83), peri- (n = 8), and postmenopausal (n = 11) participants provided twice-weekly mid-vaginal samples (total, 1,556; average, 15 per participant) over 8 weeks in an observational study. Composition of the vaginal microbiota was characterized by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and a community state type (CST) was assigned to each sample. Clustering of longitudinal CST profiles, CST transition rates, duration of low-Lactobacillus/high bacterial diversity CSTs, and other metrics of bacterial community dynamics were assessed across reproductive stages. RESULTS: The proportion of participants with longitudinal CST profiles characterized by low-Lactobacillus CSTs was similar among pre- (38.6%), peri- (37.5%), and postmenopausal (36.4%) participants (P = 0.69). CST transition rates between consecutive samples were 21.1%, 16.7%, and 14.6% for pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal participants, respectiv...