ArticlePloS one2012
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) candidate bacteria: associations with BV and behavioural practices in sexually-experienced and inexperienced women.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 92 citations in OpenAlex.
- Associations of the gut, cervical, and vaginal microbiota with cervical cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC women's health · 2025Pooled it
- Leveraging existing 16S rRNA gene surveys to decipher microbial signatures and dysbiosis in cervical carcinogenesis.Scientific reports · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021.MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports · 2021Guideline
- Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2015.MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports · 2015Guideline
- Factors Associated with Bacterial Vaginosis among Women Who Have Sex with Women: A Systematic Review.PloS one · 2015Pooled it
- Influence of dapivirine vaginal ring use on cervicovaginal immunity and functional microbiome in adolescent girls.AIDS (London, England) · 2021Trial
- Phage therapy for treatment of bacterial vaginosis.Archives of microbiology · 2026Review
- Vaginal Microbiota and Local Immunity in HPV-Induced High-Grade Cervical Dysplasia: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- The Vaginal Microbiome and Reproductive Health in Adolescents and Adults.Journal of pediatric and adolescent gynecology · 2025Review
- Exploring the female genital tract mycobiome in young South African women using metaproteomics.Microbiome · 2025Article
- Draft genomes of threeMicrobiology resource announcements · 2025Article
- Impact of bacterial vaginosis on sexually transmitted viral infections: a bacterial point of view.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2025Review
- Suggested Screening Criteria for Gardnerella vaginalis Based on Established Risk Factors.Cureus · 2024Review
- Vaginal microbiomes of breast cancer survivors treated with aromatase inhibitors with and without vulvovaginal symptoms.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Article
- Research of cervical microbiota alterations with human papillomavirus infection status and women age in Sanmenxia area of China.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Unique roles of vaginalMicrobial genomics · 2021Article
- Review
- Protection and Risk: Male and Female Genital Microbiota and Sexually Transmitted Infections.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn recent years several new fastidious bacteria have been identified that display a high specificity for BV; however no previous studies have comprehensively assessed the behavioural risk associations of these bacterial vaginosis-candidate organisms (BV-COs).
methodsWe examined the associations between 8 key previously described BV-COs and BV status established by Nugent's score (NS). We also examined the sexual practices associated with each BV-CO. We incorporated 2 study populations: 193 from a sexually-inexperienced university population and 146 from a highly sexually-active clinic population. Detailed behavioural data was collected by questionnaire and vaginal smears were scored by the Nugent method. Stored samples were tested by quantitative PCR assays for the 8 BV-COs: Atopobium vaginae, Gardnerella vaginalis, Leptotrichia spp., Megasphaera type I, Sneathia spp., and the Clostridia-like bacteria BVAB1, BVAB2 and BVAB3. Associations between BV-COs and BV and behaviours were examined by univariate and multivariable analyses.
resultsOn univariate analysis, all BV-COs were more common in BV compared to normal flora. However, only Megasphaera type I, BVAB2, A. vaginae and G. vaginalis were significantly independently associated with BV by multivariable analysis. Six of the eight BV-COs (Megasphaera type I, BVAB2, BVAB3, Sneathia, Leptotrichia and G. vaginalis) were rare or absent in sexually-unexposed women, and demonstrated increasing odds of detection with increasing levels of sexual activity and/or numbers of lifetime sexual partners. Only G. vaginalis and A. vaginae were commonly detected in sexually-unexposed women. Megasphaera type I was independently associated with women-who-have-sex-with women (WSW) and lifetime sexual partner numbers, while unprotected penile-vaginal-sex was associated with BVAB2 detection by multivariate analysis.
conclusionsFour of eight key BV-COs were significantly associated with BV after adjusting for the presence of other BV-COs. The majority of BV-COs were absent or rare in sexually-unexposed women, and associated with increasing sexual exposure, suggesting potential sexual transmission of BV-COs.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.