SynthesiseLife2022
Starting to have sexual intercourse is associated with increases in cervicovaginal immune mediators in young women: a prospective study and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in eLife, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- HIV Transmission and Immunology of the Male Reproductive Tract.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026Review
- Tenofovir, Interferon Pathways, and Mucosal Immunity: Implications for People Living With HIV.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026Review
- Evaluating the biomedical and behavioral drivers of HIV incidence decline in adolescent girls and young women in Uganda: A mathematical modeling study.PLoS medicine · 2026Article
- Innate lymphoid cells in HIV pathogenesis and in the human female genital tract.Current opinion in HIV and AIDS · 2025Review
- Antibodies from chlamydia-infected individuals facilitate phagocytosis via Fc receptors.Infection and immunity · 2024Article
- Effect of progestin-based contraceptives on HIV-associated vaginal immune biomarkers and microbiome in adolescent girls.PloS one · 2024Article
- Poweromin X Ten, a polyherbal formulation improves male sexual function:F1000Research · 2024Article
- C-Reactive Protein: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, False Test Results and a Novel Diagnostic Algorithm for Clinicians.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Advances and challenges in studying the tissue-resident T cell compartment in the human female reproductive tract.Immunological reviews · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Background: Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) are at high risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It is unknown whether beginning to have sexual intercourse results in changes to immune mediators in the cervicovaginal tract that contribute to this risk. Methods: We collected cervicovaginal lavages from Kenyan AGYW in the months before and after first penile-vaginal sexual intercourse and measured the concentrations of 20 immune mediators. We compared concentrations pre- and post-first sex using mixed effect models. We additionally performed a systematic review to identify similar studies and combined them with our results by meta-analysis of individual participant data. Results: We included 180 samples from 95 AGYW, with 44% providing only pre-first sex samples, 35% matched pre and post, and 21% only post. We consistently detected 19/20 immune mediators, all of which increased post-first sex (p<0.05 for 13/19; Holm-Bonferroni-adjusted p<0.05 for IL-1β, IL-2, and CXCL8). Effects remained similar after excluding samples with STIs and high Nugent scores. Concentrations increased cumulatively over time after date of first sex, with an estimated doubling time of about 5 months.Our systematic review identified two eligible studies, one of 93 Belgian participants, and the other of 18 American participants. Nine immune mediators were measured in at least two-thirds of studies. Meta-analysis confirmed higher levels post-first sex for 8/9 immune mediators (p<0.05 for six mediators, most prominently IL-1α, IL-1β, and CXCL8). Conclusions: Cervicovaginal immune mediator concentrations were higher in women who reported that they started sexual activity. Results were consistent across three studies conducted on three different continents. Funding: This research was funded by R01 HD091996-01 (ACR), by P01 AI 030731-25 (Project 1) (AW), R01 AI116292 (FH), R03 AI154366 (FH) and by the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) of the University of Washington/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center AI027757.
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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.