Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25535963›Full record

ArticleMenopause (New York, N.Y.)2015

Exploratory comparison of vaginal glycogen and Lactobacillus levels in premenopausal and postmenopausal women.

Paria Mirmonsef, Sharada Modur, Derick Burgad, Douglas Gilbert, Elizabeth T Golub, Audrey L French, Kerrie McCotter, Alan L Landay, Greg T Spear

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Menopause (New York, N.Y.), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
59citing papers in PubMed
4.8field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

59 citing papers in PubMed, 95 citations in OpenAlex.

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  8. Journal of bacteriology · 2026
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  13. Drug and therapeutic intravaginal delivery targeting diseases in the female reproductive tract: A mathematical modeling perspective.Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Paria MirmonsefFrom the 1Department of Immunology/Microbiology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL; 2Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD; 3Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center, Cook County Health and Hospitals System, Chicago, IL; and 4Department of Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL.
Sharada Modur
Derick Burgad
Douglas Gilbert
Elizabeth T Golub
Audrey L French
Kerrie McCotter
Alan L Landay
Greg T Spear
Rush University Medical Center · USJohns Hopkins University · USCook County Health and Hospitals System · US

Funding

Tissue Culture and Virology Laboratory CoreP01AI082971 · NIAID · RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · PI SPEAR, GREGORY T · 2009 to 2013
$11.2M
DevelopmentalP30AI082151 · NIAID · RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · PI LANDAY, ALAN L · 2009 to 2014
$4.6M
NIAID NIH HHS P01 AI08297NIAID NIH HHS P01 AI082971NIAID NIH HHS P30 AI 082151NIAID NIH HHS P30 AI082151
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivePrevious studies have suggested that glycogen expression in the vaginal epithelium decreases during menopause, resulting in reduced levels of lactobacilli. However, free glycogen in genital fluids and its relationship with Lactobacillus levels have not been compared in premenopausal and postmenopausal women.

methodsEighty-two cervicovaginal lavage samples were collected at different phases of the menstrual cycle from 11 premenopausal (4 HIV-uninfected and 7 HIV-infected) and 12 postmenopausal (7 HIV-uninfected and 5 HIV-infected) women during a 1- to 3-month period. Free glycogen was quantified in genital fluids. Lactobacillus levels were quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Estrogen and progesterone levels in blood were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

resultsFree glycogen was detected in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Across all samples, those from postmenopausal women had significantly lower levels of free glycogen than those from premenopausal women (median, 0.002 vs 0.065 μg/μL, respectively; P = 0.03). Lactobacillus levels correlated positively with free glycogen in both premenopausal (Spearman r = 0.68, P < 0.0001) and postmenopausal (r = 0.60, P < 0.002) women. Samples from premenopausal women had higher Lactobacillus levels and lower vaginal pH (median log, 8.1; median pH, 4) than those from postmenopausal women (median log, 7.1; median pH, 4.6), although these differences were not significant. HIV status had no significant effect on these relationships.

conclusionsFree glycogen is detected in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women and correlates with Lactobacillus in both groups. These results point to the complexity of the relationship between menopause and vaginal microbiota and indicate that more careful studies of the role of glycogen are warranted.

Indexed as

AdultCervix MucusEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent AssayEstrogensFemaleGlycogenHIV InfectionsHumansLactobacillusMenstrual CycleMicrobiotaMiddle AgedPostmenopausePremenopauseProgesteroneReal-Time Polymerase Chain ReactionEstrogensGlycogenProgesterone

Identifiers

PMID25535963
PMCPMC4476965
OpenAlexW2335231796

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.