ArticleScientific reports2016
Effects of low dose estrogen therapy on the vaginal microbiomes of women with atrophic vaginitis.
Article in Scientific reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 89 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
The Impact of HIV on Accelerated Aging in the Female Genital Tract: a Pilot Trial of Topical Estradiol to Improve the Vaginal Microbiome and Symptoms of Vaginal Atrophy in Menopausal Women With HIV
Defining the Vaginal Microbiome and the Vaginal pH of Menopausal Women With and Without Genitourinary Syndrome and With and Without Hormone Replacement Therapy
Vaginal Estradiol Versus Moisturizer to Improve Postmenopausal Vaginal Aging Symptoms, Dysbiosis and Markers of Latency Reversal in Menopausal Women Living With HIV
Who cites it
89 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 142 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Effect of Exogenous Sex Steroids on the Vaginal Microbiota: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Pooled it
- Impact of Vaginal Estradiol on the Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause, Vaginal Microbiome and Mucosal Immune Mediators in Women With HIV.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Associations of vaginal microbiota with the onset, severity, and type of symptoms of genitourinary syndrome of menopause in women.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Trial
- Association between postmenopausal vulvovaginal discomfort, vaginal microbiota, and mucosal inflammation.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2021Trial
- Associations between improvement in genitourinary symptoms of menopause and changes in the vaginal ecosystem.Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 2018Trial
- A Randomized, Multicenter, Double-Blind, Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Estradiol Vaginal Cream 0.003% in Postmenopausal Women with Vaginal Dryness as the Most Bothersome Symptom.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2018Trial
- A randomized, multicenter, double-blind study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of estradiol vaginal cream 0.003% in postmenopausal women with dyspareunia as the most bothersome symptom.Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 2018Trial
- Vaginal microbiota and genitourinary menopausal symptoms: a cross-sectional analysis.Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 2017Trial
- The cervicovaginal gut microbiota axis as a key determinant of systemic physiology.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Vaginal high-intensity focused ultrasound in women with genitourinary syndrome of menopause: a prospective exploratory study.Sexual medicine · 2026Article
- Genitourinary microbiota in older women: a persistent knowledge gap that limits clinical and research progress.Infection and immunity · 2026Review
- Vaginal microbiomes and their pertinent social context: a microbial ecological review proffering AMR-STI acquisition and emergence.Biology of sex differences · 2026Review
- Rethinking Vaginal Microbiome Resilience: A Conceptual Multi-Omic Framework.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Sex-biased intratumoral microbiome influences tumor molecular and immune landscape and disease outcomes.Cell reports. Medicine · 2026Article
- Development of the Urogenital Microbiota in Healthy Beagle Puppies: A Longitudinal Comparison with the Dam.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Vaginal aging: from concealed symptoms to defined biomarkers.npj aging · 2026Review
- Beyond the Barrier: Epithelial Cells as Immune Sentinels in the Female Genital Tract.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026Review
- Decoding the microbial landscape of endometrial cancer: a case-control study.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- Unraveling the relationship between the vaginal microbiome and return to estrus in post-weaning sows.BMC veterinary research · 2026Article
29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Atrophic vaginitis (AV) is common in postmenopausal women, but its causes are not well understood. The symptoms, which include vaginal itching, burning, dryness, irritation, and dyspareunia, can usually be alleviated by low doses of estrogen given orally or locally. Regrettably, the composition of vaginal bacterial communities in women with AV have not been fully characterized and little is known as to how these communities change over time in response to hormonal therapy. In the present intervention study we determined the response of vaginal bacterial communities in postmenopausal women with AV to low-dose estrogen therapy. The changes in community composition in response to hormonal therapy were rapid and typified by significant increases in the relative abundance of Lactobacillus spp. that were mirrored by a decreased relative abundance of Gardnerella. These changes were paralleled by a significant four-fold increase in serum estradiol levels and decreased vaginal pH, as well as nearly a two-fold increase in the Vaginal Maturation Index (VMI). The results suggest that after menopause a vaginal microbiota dominated by species of Lactobacillus may have a beneficial role in the maintenance of health and these findings that could lead to new strategies to protect postmenopausal women from AV.
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.