ArticleObstetrics and gynecology2012
Effect of sexual debut on vaginal microbiota in a cohort of young women.
Article in Obstetrics and gynecology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 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
26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- The vaginal microbiota: what have we learned after a decade of molecular characterization?PloS one · 2014Pooled it
- Vaginal microbiota stability over 18 months in young student women in France.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2024Trial
- Influence of dapivirine vaginal ring use on cervicovaginal immunity and functional microbiome in adolescent girls.AIDS (London, England) · 2021Trial
- Effect of oral consumption of capsules containing Lactobacillus paracasei LPC-S01 on the vaginal microbiota of healthy adult women: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover study.FEMS microbiology ecology · 2020Trial
- Lactobacillus iners at the nexus of microbiota, immunity, and pregnancy.Journal of reproductive immunology · 2026Review
- Shaping the Female Microbiome: A Review of Lifestyle Factors Influencing the Vaginal, Gut, Oral, and Skin Microenvironments.Microbial ecology · 2026Review
- Unraveling the link between early sexual initiation and endometriosis: evidence from population-based analyses and genetic causal inference.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2026Article
- The Vaginal Microbiome and Reproductive Health in Adolescents and Adults.Journal of pediatric and adolescent gynecology · 2025Review
- Understanding the Associations of Urogenital Microbiomes With Fertility and In Vitro Fertilization.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2025Review
- Main differential endometrial microbiota associated with recurrent implantation failure: a case control study.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Article
- Suggested Screening Criteria for Gardnerella vaginalis Based on Established Risk Factors.Cureus · 2024Review
- The association between lifestyle factors and the composition of the vaginal microbiota: a review.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2024Review
- Investigating the impact of condomless vaginal intercourse and lubricant use on the vaginal metabolome: a pre-post observational study.Sexually transmitted infections · 2023Observational
- The Vaginal Microbiota of Pregnant Women Varies with Gestational Age, Maternal Age, and Parity.Microbiology spectrum · 2023Article
- Connecting the Dots: Translating the Vaginal Microbiome Into a Drug.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Age and sex-associated variation in the multi-site microbiome of an entire social group of free-ranging rhesus macaques.Microbiome · 2021Article
- Reviewing the Composition of Vaginal Microbiota: Inclusion of Nutrition and Probiotic Factors in the Maintenance of Eubiosis.Nutrients · 2020Review
- The Penile Microbiota in Uncircumcised and Circumcised Men: Relationships With HIV and Human Papillomavirus Infections and Cervicovaginal Microbiota.Frontiers in medicine · 2020Review
- The Vaginal Microbiota Among Adolescent Girls in Tanzania Around the Time of Sexual Debut.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveBacterial vaginosis is uncommon in women who are virgins. We estimated effects of sexual debut on vaginal bacterial colonization.
methodsWomen who were virgins and aged 18-22 years enrolled in a study of human papillomavirus acquisition were followed every 4 months for up to 2 years. Vaginal swabs from before and after sexual debut or two independent visits for those remaining virgins were tested by quantitative polymerase chain reaction for Lactobacillus crispatus, Lactobacillus jensenii, Lactobacillus iners, Gardnerella vaginalis, and the bacterial vaginosis-associated species Atopobium vaginae, Megasphaera species, Leptotrichia species, Sneathia species, and bacterial vaginosis-associated bacterium-1, -2, and -3.
resultsWe evaluated 97 women: 71 who became sexually active and 26 who remained virgins. At first sampling, 22 of 26 (85%) women who remained virgins were colonized with Lactobacillus species compared with 22 of 26 (85%) at follow-up (P>.99). G vaginalis was present in 12 of 26 (46%) initially and 11 of 26 (42%) at follow-up (P>.99). Among women who became sexually active, colonization with Lactobacillus species remained stable: 65 of 71 (92%) compared with 66 of 71 (93%) (P>.99), whereas colonization with G vaginalis increased (28 of 71 [39%] compared with 40 of 71 [56%]; P=.02). Among women who did not initiate sexual activity during the study, two of 26 (8%) had any bacterial vaginosis-associated species detected at both the first and second visits (P>.99). Among women who became sexually active during the study, 15 of 71 (21%) were colonized with bacterial vaginosis-associated species initially compared with 13 of 71 (18%) after sexual debut (P=.77).
conclusionsAmong women who were virgins, vaginal colonization with bacterial vaginosis-associated bacterial species is uncommon and does not change after sexual debut.
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Registered trials
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