ArticleNature microbiology2023
A citizen-science-enabled catalogue of the vaginal microbiome and associated factors.
Article in Nature microbiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 122 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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
122 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effect of menstrual cups on vaginal health, reproductive tract and urogenital infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis.EBioMedicine · 2026Pooled it
- Microbiota composition of the female reproductive tract and miscarriage: a systematic review and meta-analysis.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Pooled it
- Association Between Vaginal Microbiota and Cervical Dysplasia Due to Persistent Human Papillomavirus Infection: A Systematic Review of Evidence from Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing Studies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Parental microbiome programming of early-life neurodevelopment: multi-niche contributions through the microbiome-gut-brain axis.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Species and strain sharing in the vaginal microbiome of mothers and their adult daughters.Cell reports · 2026Article
- Considerations for the design of impactful citizen-science projects in microbiome research.Nature protocols · 2026Review
- To bridge the evidence gap in women's health, look at the real world.Nature medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Genitourinary microbiota in older women: a persistent knowledge gap that limits clinical and research progress.Infection and immunity · 2026Review
- From diversity to dominance: how salt and CO₂ shape LAB-dominated ecosystems in vegetable fermentations.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- The Vaginal Microbiota of Adult Malagasy Women of Reproductive Age in the Marovoay District: First Characterization and Exploration of Associations With Human Papillomavirus and Schistosoma haematobium Infections.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Microbiome and aging: Trajectories of microbiome age across human ecosystems and their systemic effects.iMeta · 2026Review
- Vaginal microbiomes and their pertinent social context: a microbial ecological review proffering AMR-STI acquisition and emergence.Biology of sex differences · 2026Review
- Genetic Toolbox Expansion Enables Constitutively Fluorescent Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus for Functional Microbiome Research.Microbial biotechnology · 2026Article
- Genomic landscape of the human vaginal microbiome is linked to host genetics and population of origin.Nature genetics · 2026Article
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae reduces vulvovaginal candidiasis severity through modulation of fungal pathogenicity and inflammatory responses.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Endometrial Microbiome Profiles in Women Evaluated for Infertility or Recurrent Miscarriage: A Single-Center Descriptive Study.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Advocating for return-of-results to participants in microbiome research.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
62 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
17 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Understanding the composition and function of the vaginal microbiome is crucial for reproductive and overall health. Here we established the Isala citizen-science project to analyse the vaginal microbiomes of 3,345 women in Belgium (18-98 years) through self-sampling, 16S amplicon sequencing and extensive questionnaires. The overall vaginal microbiome composition was strongly tied to age, childbirth and menstrual cycle phase. Lactobacillus species dominated 78% of the vaginal samples. Specific bacterial taxa also showed to co-occur in modules based on network correlation analysis. Notably, the module containing Lactobacillus crispatus, Lactobacillus jensenii and Limosilactobacillus taxa was positively linked to oestrogen levels and contraceptive use and negatively linked to childbirth and breastfeeding. Other modules, named after abundant taxa (Gardnerella, Prevotella and Bacteroides), correlated with multiple partners, menopause, menstrual hygiene and contraceptive use. With this resource-rich vaginal microbiome map and associated health, life-course, lifestyle and dietary factors, we provide unique data and insights for follow-up clinical and mechanistic research.
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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.