SynthesisPloS one2013
Hormonal contraception is associated with a reduced risk of bacterial vaginosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 89 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Effects of a Vaginal Contraceptive Ring on Vaginal Microbiota and Local Immunity
Hormonal Contraception and Bacterial Vaginosis (HCBV): The Effect of Norethisterone Enanthate on Recurrent Bacterial Vaginosis Among Women at High Risk for HIV Infection in Kampala, Uganda
Who cites it
89 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 166 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of hormonal treatments for endometriosis on the reproductive microbiome: a systematic review.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Pooled it
- The Vaginal Microbiota, Human Papillomavirus Infection, and Cervical Carcinogenesis: A Systematic Review in the Latina Population.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2024Pooled it
- Hormonal contraceptive use and the risk of sexually transmitted infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2022Pooled it
- The Effect of Exogenous Sex Steroids on the Vaginal Microbiota: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Pooled it
- Factors Associated with Bacterial Vaginosis among Women Who Have Sex with Women: A Systematic Review.PloS one · 2015Pooled it
- Influence of Hormonal Contraceptive Use and HIV on Cervicovaginal Cytokines and Microbiota in Malawi.mSphere · 2023Trial
- Hormonal contraception alters vaginal microbiota and cytokines in South African adolescents in a randomized trial.Nature communications · 2020Trial
- Combined oral contraceptive pill-exposure alone does not reduce the risk of bacterial vaginosis recurrence in a pilot randomised controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- Trial
- The cervicovaginal gut microbiota axis as a key determinant of systemic physiology.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Comparison of pregnancy outcomes and vaginal microbiota in women with endometriosis undergoing frozen embryo transfer using letrozole combined with HMG versus hormone replacement therapy with GnRH-a pretreatment.Journal of biomedical research · 2026Article
- Vaginal microbiomes and their pertinent social context: a microbial ecological review proffering AMR-STI acquisition and emergence.Biology of sex differences · 2026Review
- Harnessing the Vaginal Microbiome: A New Frontier in the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections.Expert reviews in molecular medicine · 2026Review
- An Epidemiologic Review of Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals and Understudied Gynecologic Health Conditions Affecting Quality of Life.Current environmental health reports · 2026Review
- The Role of the Vaginal Microbiome in Gynecological Diseases: Mechanistic Insights and Emerging Interventions.Biology · 2026Review
- Mapping the Vaginal Metabolic Profile in Dysbiosis, Persistent Human Papillomavirus Infection, and Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia: A Scoping Review.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The Role of the Microbiome in Endometriosis.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2025Review
- Bacterial Vaginosis Incidence Following a Single Hyperosmolal Vaginal Lubricant Exposure: A Comparison of Two Observational Cohorts.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2025Observational
- Prevalence and associated risk factors of bacterial vaginosis among women of reproductive age living with, and without HIV in Lagos, Nigeria.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Carbohydrate Intake and Bacterial Vaginosis: A Systematic Review.American journal of lifestyle medicine · 2025Review
29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the association between hormonal contraception (HC) and bacterial vaginosis (BV) by systematic review and meta-analysis.
methodsMedline, Web of Science and Embase databases were searched to 24/1/13 and duplicate references removed. Inclusion criteria 1) >20 BV cases; 2) accepted BV diagnostic method; 3) measure of HC-use either as combined oestrogen-progesterone HC (combined), progesterone-only contraception (POC) or unspecified HC (u-HC); 4) ≥ 10% of women using HC; 5) analysis of the association between BV and HC-use presented; 6) appropriate control group. Data extracted included: type of HC, BV diagnostic method and outcome (prevalent, incident, recurrent), and geographical and clinic-setting. Meta-analyses were conducted to calculate pooled effect sizes (ES), stratified by HC-type and BV outcome. This systematic review is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42013003699).
resultsOf 1713 unique references identified, 502 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 55 studies met inclusion criteria. Hormonal contraceptive use was associated with a significant reduction in the odds of prevalent BV (pooled effect size by random-effects [reES] = 0.68, 95%CI0.63-0.73), and in the relative risk (RR) of incident (reES = 0.82, 95%CI:0.72-0.92), and recurrent (reES = 0.69, 95%CI:0.59-0.91) BV. When stratified by HC-type, combined-HC and POC were both associated with decreased prevalence of BV and risk of incident BV. In the pooled analysis of the effect of HC-use on the composite outcome of prevalent/incident/recurrent BV, HC-use was associated with a reduced risk of any BV (reES = 0.78, 95%CI:0.74-0.82).
conclusionHC-use was associated with a significantly reduced risk of BV. This negative association was robust and present regardless of HC-type and evident across all three BV outcome measures. When stratified by HC-type, combined-HC and POC were both individually associated with a reduction in the prevalence and incidence of BV. This meta-analysis provides compelling evidence that HC-use influences a woman's risk of BV, with important implications for clinicians and researchers in the field.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.