What role does the vaginal microbiota play in womens health?

In terms of health, the vaginal microbiota plays a still underestimated role. It plays a role in protection against infections and sexually transmitted diseases, but also in the proper course of pregnancy. Jeanne Tamarelle defended a thesis entitled “Composition and dynamics of the vaginal microbiota: associated factors and role in Chlamydia trachomatis infection”.

An invisible but essential ecosystem for women’s health Jeanne Tamarelle defines the vaginal microbiota as “a set of microorganisms” living in “dynamic balance” in the vagina and playing a key role in “the proper course of our gynecological health”. The researcher explains that her interest in the subject stemmed from a personal observation: “there was a glaring lack of information on how women’s bodies function”. Her thesis work confirmed the existence of several types of vaginal microbiota and showed that some increased “the risk of acquiring infections such as Chlamydia trachomatis or human papillomavirus”.

The researcher explains that estrogen promotes protective bacteria, lactobacilli, capable of producing “lactic acid that acidifies the vaginal environment and protects against sexually transmitted infections”. Her research also highlighted “the effect of certain antibiotics”, “the role of menstruation”, and even “vaginal douching” in the imbalances of the microbiota. Even though the term evokes the intestinal microbiota, she emphasizes that the two universes remain very different: “vaginal bacteria are quite specific to the vaginal environment”.

A still marginal but promising research for therapeutic hopes Guillaume Erner then questions the low scientific visibility of these works. Jeanne Tamarelle believes that this situation mainly reflects “the neglect of women’s health”, recalling that the subject remains “much more niche” than that of the intestinal microbiota. According to her, it has long not been considered “essential to know how women’s bodies function”. This lack of interest also explains the delay in research and the low number of teams working on these issues worldwide.

In conclusion, the researcher discusses the therapeutic perspectives opened up by this work. Research is developing around “antibiotics and probiotics”, with “ongoing clinical trials”. But the issue is also preventive: “knowing one’s microbiota helps better manage one’s gynecological health”. However, she points out that this knowledge is still far from being used in common medical practice: the study of the vaginal microbiota “is not yet used in clinical practice”.