The vaginal microbiome of transgender men receiving gender-affirming hormonal therapy in comparison to that of cisgender women.
Estradiol
Gender incongruence
Menopause
Testosterone
Journal
Scientific reports
ISSN: 2045-2322
Titre abrégé: Sci Rep
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101563288
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
14 Sep 2024
14 Sep 2024
Historique:
received:
14
05
2024
accepted:
06
09
2024
medline:
15
9
2024
pubmed:
15
9
2024
entrez:
14
9
2024
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
The vaginal microbiome of trans men and menopausal women is suspected to be similar due to a lack of estrogen leading to the absence of lactobacilli. However, data are scarce. We performed an analysis of the vaginal microbiome of trans men (n = 25) in comparison to that of menopausal (n = 25) and premenopausal women (n = 25). The vaginal microbiome of trans men and menopausal women showed a higher alpha diversity than that of premenopausal women. Various beta diversity indices (e.g., Bray‒Curtis (Un-)Weigthed Unifrac), showed significant differences in community composition between trans men and premenopausal (p < 0.001) and menopausal women (p < 0.001). The vaginal microbiome of trans men is characterized by a loss of Lactobacillus and an increase in bacteria associated with the intestinal flora (e.g., Campylobacter, Anaerococcus, Dialister, Prevotella). The abundance of Dialister and Prevotella decreased with the length of hormonal therapy in trans men. The Nugent score, Pap smear and HPV status did not differ between the study groups. The vaginal microbiome of trans men differs from that of premenopausal women but shows similarities to that of menopausal women. The duration of hormonal therapy in trans men may have important impacts on the vaginal microbiome and thus possibly on the risk for STIs.
Identifiants
pubmed: 39277646
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-72365-4
pii: 10.1038/s41598-024-72365-4
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Comparative Study
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
21526Informations de copyright
© 2024. The Author(s).
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