Characteristics associated with Lactobacillus iners-dominated vaginal microbiota

Autor(es)

Novak, Juliano ^[1] ; Ravel, Jacques ^[2] ; Ma, Bing ^[3] ; Tafner Ferreira, Carolina Sanita ^[1] ; Tristao, Andrea da Rocha ^[4] ; Silva, Marcia Guimaraes ^[1] ; Marconi, Camila ^{[1, 5]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Sao Paulo State Univ, Med Sch, Dept Pathol, UNESP, Botucatu, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Maryland, Dept Microbiol & Immunol, Baltimore, MD 21201 - USA

^[3] Univ Maryland, Sch Med, Inst Genome Sci, Baltimore, MD 21201 - USA

^[4] Sao Paulo State Univ, Med Sch, Dept Gynecol & Obstet, UNESP, Botucatu, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Fed Parana, Dept Basic Pathol, Curitiba, Parana - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS; SEP 2021.
• Citações Web of Science: 1

Resumo

Objective The protective role of Lactobacillus iners in the vaginal microbiota has been questioned. Recent studies have shown that L. iners is the dominating taxon in a large subset of women worldwide. The aim of this study was to identify sociodemographic, behavioural and clinical variables associated with L. iners-dominated community state type (CST) III in Brazilian women of reproductive age. Participants and methods This study leveraged microbiota compositional data generated by sequencing of the V3-V4 16S rRNA gene from vaginal samples collected from 442 participants enrolled in a previous cross-sectional study that included 609 women in five geographical regions of Brazil. A total of 167 (27.4%) participants were excluded from the current study as they did not present a Lactobacillus-dominated vaginal microbiota. Data on sociodemographic and behavioural characteristics of the study population were obtained through face-to-face interviews. Participants were assigned to two study groups: those with L. iners-dominated CST III (n=222) and those with three distinct CSTs (I, II or V) dominated by another Lactobacillus spp. (n=220). Logistic regression analysis using a stepwise method was performed to test association between CST III and participants' characteristics, considering their OR and 95% CIs. Results Among the population characteristics assessed, L. iners-dominated CST III was independently associated with having two or more sexual partners (OR 3.27; 95% CI 1.50 to 7.11) and microscopic detection of Candida sp. on vaginal smears (OR 2.24; 95% CI 1.02 to 4.89). Other characteristics were inversely associated with CST III, including condom use (OR 0.59; 95% CI 0.38 to 0.91), higher educational level (OR 0.61; 95% CI 0.41 to 0.91) and diet containing milk/dairy intake (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.20 to 0.90). Conclusion Unprotected sex practices, number of sexual partners and lower educational levels may be useful for identifying women with L. iners-dominated microbiota and its suboptimal protective properties. L. iners microbiota does not seem to provide optimal protection against Candida sp. colonisation, warranting further investigation. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 12/16800-3 - Caracterização do microbioma vaginal de mulheres brasileiras em idade reprodutiva
• Beneficiário: Márcia Guimarães da Silva
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular