Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36948151›Full record

ArticleCell reports. Medicine2023

Sexual behavior shapes male genitourinary microbiome composition.

Evelyn Toh, Yue Xing, Xiang Gao, Stephen J Jordan, Teresa A Batteiger, Byron E Batteiger, Barbara Van Der Pol, Christina A Muzny, Netsanet Gebregziabher, James A Williams and 4 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell reports. Medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
26citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.8field-weighted citation impact, top 4% 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

26 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. High rates of Treponema pallidum, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, or Trichomonas vaginalis co-infection in people with HIV: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Comparative Epidemiology and Co-Detection ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
  6. Genome-wide association studies ofInfection and immunity · 2026
    Article
  7. Review
  8. HIV Transmission and Immunology of the Male Reproductive Tract.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026
    Review
  9. Anaerobe-Driven Inflammation and Epithelial Barrier Disruption in Genital HIV Acquisition.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Bacterial vaginosis.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2025
    Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Microbes Saving Lives and Reducing Suffering.Microbial biotechnology · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Evelyn TohDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Yue XingDepartment of Medicine, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA.
Xiang GaoDepartment of Medicine, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA.
Stephen J JordanDepartment of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Teresa A BatteigerDepartment of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Byron E BatteigerDepartment of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Barbara Van Der PolDepartment of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Christina A MuznyDepartment of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Netsanet GebregziabherDepartment of Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
James A WilliamsDivision of Infectious Diseases, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Lora J FortenberryDivision of Infectious Diseases, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
J Dennis FortenberryDepartment of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Qunfeng DongDepartment of Medicine, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA; Center for Biomedical Informatics, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA. Electronic address: qdong@luc.edu.
David E NelsonDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA. Electronic address: nelsonde@indiana.edu.
Indiana University School of MedicineLoyola University Chicago · USUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham · US

Funding

The role of the urethral microbiome in idiopathic urethritis in menR01AI116706 · NIAID · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · PI NELSON, DAVID EMMET · 2016 to 2020
$3.6M
Pathogenesis of Bacterial Vaginosis in Women Who Have Sex with WomenK23AI106957 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI MUZNY, CHRISTINA A · 2014 to 2018
$873k
NIAID NIH HHS K23 AI106957NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI116706
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The origin, composition, and significance of the distal male urethral microbiome are unclear, but vaginal microbiome dysbiosis is linked to new sex partners and several urogynecological syndromes. We characterized 110 urethral specimens from men without urethral symptoms, infections, or inflammation using shotgun metagenomics. Most urethral specimens contain characteristic lactic acid bacteria and Corynebacterium spp. In contrast, several bacteria associated with vaginal dysbiosis were present only in specimens from men who reported vaginal intercourse. Sexual behavior, but not other evaluated behavioral, demographic, or clinical variables, strongly associated with inter-specimen variance in urethral microbiome composition. Thus, the male urethra supports a simple core microbiome that is established independent of sexual exposures but can be re-shaped by vaginal sex. Overall, the results suggest that urogenital microbiology and sexual behavior are inexorably intertwined, and show that the male urethra harbors female urogenital pathobionts.

Indexed as

MicrobiotaSexual BehaviorUrethraHumansMaledevelopmentidiopathicmicrobiomemicrobiotasexually transmitted infectionurethraurethritisurobiome

Identifiers

PMID36948151
PMCPMC10040456
OpenAlexW4328088926

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.