Assessment of the association between vaginal microbiota and recurrent early spontaneous preterm birth

Goodfellow, Laura, Van De Wijgert, Janneke, Care, Angharad and Alfirevic, Zarko (2021) Assessment of the association between vaginal microbiota and recurrent early spontaneous preterm birth. [Data Collection]

Data Catalogue DOI: 10.17638/datacat.liverpool.ac.uk/1311

Original publication URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.16816

Description

This is the dataset that was used to create the paper: Vaginal bacterial load in the second trimester is associated with early preterm birth recurrence: a nested case-control study. As accepted by the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, June 2021. Abstract for the paper: Objective: To assess the association between vaginal microbiome (VMB) composition and recurrent early spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB)/preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM). Design: Nested case-control study. Setting: UK tertiary referral hospital. Sample: High-risk women with previous sPTB/PPROM <34+0 weeks gestation who had a recurrence (n=22) or delivered at ≥37+0 weeks without PPROM (n=87). Methods: Vaginal swabs collected between 15-22 weeks gestation were analysed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and 16S quantitative PCR. Main outcome measure: Recurrent early sPTB/PPROM. Results: 28/109 high-risk women had anaerobic vaginal dysbiosis, with the remainder dominated by lactobacilli (L. iners 36/109, L. crispatus 23/109, or other 22/109). VMB type and diversity were not associated with recurrence. Women with a recurrence, compared to those without, had a higher median vaginal bacterial load (8.64 vs. 7.89 log10 cells/μl, adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=1.90, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.01-3.56, p=0.047) and estimated Lactobacillus concentration (8.59 vs. 7.48 log10 cells/μl, aOR=2.35, CI=1.20-4.61, p=0.013). A higher recurrence risk was associated with higher median bacterial loads for each VMB type after stratification, although statistical significance was reached only for L. iners-domination (aOR=3.44, CI=1.06-11.15, p=0.040). Women with anaerobic dysbiosis or L. iners-domination had a higher median vaginal bacterial load than women with a VMB dominated by L. crispatus or other lactobacilli (8.54, 7.96, 7.63, and 7.53 log10 cells/μl, respectively). Conclusions: Vaginal bacterial load is associated with early sPTB/PPROM recurrence. Domination by lactobacilli other than L. iners may protect women from developing high bacterial loads. Future PTB studies should quantify vaginal bacteria and yeasts. Funding: Wellbeing of Women, London, UK Keywords: vaginal microbiome; Lactobacillus; spontaneous preterm birth; preterm premature rupture of membranes. Tweetable abstract: Increased vaginal bacterial load in the second trimester may be associated with recurrent early spontaneous preterm birth.

Keywords:

vaginal microbiome; Lactobacillus; spontaneous preterm birth; preterm premature rupture of membranes

Divisions:

Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Life Courses and Medical Sciences > Women's and Children's Health

Depositing User:

Laura Goodfellow

Date Deposited:

07 Jun 2021 12:35

Last Modified:

22 Jun 2021 10:25

DOI:

10.17638/datacat.liverpool.ac.uk/1311