TY - JOUR
T1 - The vaginal microbiome in women of reproductive age with healthy weight versus overweight/obesity
AU - Vaginal Microbiome Consortium
AU - Allen, Natalie G.
AU - Edupuganti, Laahirie
AU - Edwards, David J.
AU - Jimenez, Nicole R.
AU - Buck, Gregory A.
AU - Jefferson, Kimberly K.
AU - Strauss, Jerome F.
AU - Wickham, Edmond P.
AU - Fettweis, Jennifer M.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded by NIH grants R21HD092965 and U54HD080784. Other grants that provided partial support include NIH grant UH3AI083263 and a GAPPS Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Preventing Preterm Birth grant. NRJ was supported by NIH grant R25GM090084 for the Virginia Commonwealth University Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program. The study team gratefully acknowledges the participants who contributed specimens and data to the VaHMP. The authors would also like to acknowledge other members of the Vaginal Microbiome Consortium and the Research Alliance for Microbiome Science (RAMS) Registry whose contributions made the study possible, including the team of research coordinators, the team of sample processors, the team of data managers, and the team of clinicians and nurses who assisted with sample collection. DNA sequencing was performed in the Genomics Core of Nucleic Acids Research Facilities at VCU; the Center for High Performance Computing at VCU provided supercomputing clusters, large-scale storage systems, and support for high-performance computing.
Funding Information:
This study was funded by NIH grants R21HD092965 and U54HD080784. Other grants that provided partial support include NIH grant UH3AI083263 and a GAPPS Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Preventing Preterm Birth grant. NRJ was supported by NIH grant R25GM090084 for the Virginia Commonwealth University Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Obesity Society
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between the vaginal microbiome of reproductive-aged women with overweight and obesity (Ow/Ob) compared with healthy weight (HW). Methods: In this case-control study, a cohort of 367 nonpregnant women (18 to 40 years) with Ow/Ob (BMI ≥25 kg/m2) was case-matched with 367 women with HW (BMI 18.0 to 24.9 kg/m2). The study was a secondary analysis of 16S rRNA vaginal microbiome surveys through the Vaginal Human Microbiome Study (VaHMP). Groups were matched on age, race/ethnicity, income, and nulliparity status. Results: Mean age and BMI of Ow/Ob and HW groups were 26.8 versus 26.7 years and 37.0 versus 22.1 kg/m2, respectively. The overall vaginal microbiome composition differed between groups (PERMANOVA, p = 0.035). Women with Ow/Ob had higher alpha diversity compared with women with HW (Wilcoxon test, Shannon index p = 0.025; inverse Simpson index p = 0.026). Lactobacillus dominance (≥30% proportional abundance) was observed in a greater proportion of women with HW (48.7%) compared with Ow/Ob (40.1%; p = 0.026). Conclusions: The vaginal microbiome differs in reproductive-aged women with Ow/Ob compared with women with HW, with increased alpha diversity and decreased predominance of Lactobacillus. Observed differences in the vaginal microbiome may partially explain differences in preterm birth and bacterial vaginosis risk between these populations.
AB - Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between the vaginal microbiome of reproductive-aged women with overweight and obesity (Ow/Ob) compared with healthy weight (HW). Methods: In this case-control study, a cohort of 367 nonpregnant women (18 to 40 years) with Ow/Ob (BMI ≥25 kg/m2) was case-matched with 367 women with HW (BMI 18.0 to 24.9 kg/m2). The study was a secondary analysis of 16S rRNA vaginal microbiome surveys through the Vaginal Human Microbiome Study (VaHMP). Groups were matched on age, race/ethnicity, income, and nulliparity status. Results: Mean age and BMI of Ow/Ob and HW groups were 26.8 versus 26.7 years and 37.0 versus 22.1 kg/m2, respectively. The overall vaginal microbiome composition differed between groups (PERMANOVA, p = 0.035). Women with Ow/Ob had higher alpha diversity compared with women with HW (Wilcoxon test, Shannon index p = 0.025; inverse Simpson index p = 0.026). Lactobacillus dominance (≥30% proportional abundance) was observed in a greater proportion of women with HW (48.7%) compared with Ow/Ob (40.1%; p = 0.026). Conclusions: The vaginal microbiome differs in reproductive-aged women with Ow/Ob compared with women with HW, with increased alpha diversity and decreased predominance of Lactobacillus. Observed differences in the vaginal microbiome may partially explain differences in preterm birth and bacterial vaginosis risk between these populations.
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U2 - 10.1002/oby.23306
DO - 10.1002/oby.23306
M3 - Article
C2 - 34806323
AN - SCOPUS:85119474730
SN - 1930-7381
VL - 30
SP - 142
EP - 152
JO - Obesity
JF - Obesity
IS - 1
ER -