Between a quarter and a third of vaginal infections are directly attributable to men, depending on whether they are circumcised, according to a US study.
- About one in four women (26.3%) developed an infection during the study when their partner was circumcised.
- A figure that climbs to more than one in three women (37.3%) for those whose companion is not circumcised.
- Observation of penile microbiota has made it possible to predict bacterial vaginosis with great precision.
The role of men is too often overlooked in women’s reproductive health. To remedy this, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago (USA) have shown that men are the cause of between a third and a quarter of vaginal infections. They published their results on August 4 in the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.
Circumcision, a real influence
The researchers studied 168 heterosexual couples who regularly had sex for a year. They assessed the presence of bacterial vaginosis, an imbalance in the vaginal or vulvar flora that leads to the overgrowth of harmful bacteria, in the women at the start of the study, after six months and one year later. They also took samples from the men in the urinary meatus, glans and coronary sulcus to analyze the bacteria.
The influence of men in the development of vaginal infections became evident. The results indicated “a clear temporal association between penile microbial composition and later disease development”, observed Supriya Mehta, lead author of the study. About one in four women (26.3%) developed an infection during the study when their partner was circumcised. A figure that climbs to more than one in three women (37.3%) for those whose companion is not circumcised. This discrepancy is explained by the lower number of anaerobic bacteria in circumcised penises, according to the researchers.
Include men
The role of men in the development of female reproductive diseases appears obvious. “Concordance of the penile microbiome with the vaginal microbiome of sexual partners does not simply reflect the vaginal microbiome, but may contribute to it”, advance the researchers. Observation of penile microbiota has made it possible to predict bacterial vaginosis with great precision. Bacterial taxa were anticipated in 74.6% of cases.
The authors believe that these results should help to take a closer look at the influence of men in the reproductive diseases developed by women. “A potential treatment should be effective in reducing or modifying” bacterial presence in men, leading to reduce bacterial vaginosis. “I would like clinicians, researchers, and the general public to include male partners in their efforts to improve women’s reproductive healthconcludes Supriya Mehta to AFP. This is not about shifting the blame to either partner, but about increasing options and opportunities for improvement.”
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