The vaginal microbiota and its association with human papillomavirus, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Mycoplasma genitalium infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The vaginal microbiota may modulate susceptibility to human papillomavirus (HPV), Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Mycoplasma genitalium infections. Persistent infection with a carcinogenic HPV is a prerequisite for cervical cancer, and C. trachomatis, N. gonorrheae and M. genitalium genital infections are all associated with pelvic inflammatory disease and subsequent infertility issues. To evaluate the association between these infections and the vaginal microbiota. The search was conducted on Medline and the Web of Science for articles published between 2000 and 2016. Inclusion criteria included a measure of association for vaginal microbiota and one of the considered STIs, female population, cohort, cross-sectional and interventional designs, and the use of PCR methods for pathogen detection. The vaginal microbiota was dichotomized into high-Lactobacillus vaginal microbiota (HL-VMB) and low-Lactobacillus vaginal microbiota (LL-VMB), using either Nugent score, Amsel's criteria, presence of clue cells or gene sequencing. A random effects model assuming heterogeneity among the studies was used for each STI considered. The search yielded 1054 articles, of which 39 met the inclusion criteria. Measures of association with LL-VMB ranged from 0.6 (95% CI 0.3–1.2) to 2.8 (95% CI 0.3–28.0), 0.7 (95% CI 0.4–1.2) to 5.2 (95% CI 1.9–14.8), 0.8 (95% CI 0.5–1.4) to 3.8 (95% CI 0.4–36.2) and 0.4 (95% CI 0.1–1.5) to 6.1 (95% CI 2.0–18.5) for HPV, C. trachomatis, N. gonorrhoeae and M. genitalium infections, respectively. Although no clear trend for N. gonorrhoeae and M. genitalium infections could be detected, our results support a protective role of HL-VMB for HPV and C. trachomatis. Overall, these findings advocate for the use of high-resolution characterization methods for the vaginal microbiota and the need for longitudinal studies to lay the foundation for its integration in prevention and treatment strategies.