· Due to abnormalities in the vaginal microbiome, women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are more likely to have bacterial vaginosis (BV).
· BV is also likely to be one of the unrecognized causes of infertility or pregnancy complications of PCOS patients, according to a study co-authored by PAM's Dr. Iwona Golębiewska.
· Article ”Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) and Vaginal Microbiome Disorders in Women Suffering from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)“ was published in the journal Diagnostics.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38396443/
· Its authors - Izabela Chudzicka-Strugała, Iwona Gołębiewska, Beata Banaszewska, Mateusz Trzciński, Grzegorz Brudecki, Wael Elamin, Barbara Zwoździak - analyzed laboratory results of a selected group of 380 patients with PCOS.
Is polycystic ovary syndrome related to BV, and what is its relationship?
PCOS is a multifactorial, heterogeneous endocrine and metabolic disorder, the diagnosis, management and monitoring of which require the cooperation of many specialists, as well as the patients themselves. Because of its association with disorders of the menstrual cycle and fertility, the disease takes on particular importance in a group of women of reproductive age.
The authors of the article focused on analyzing the vaginal microbiome of patients with PCOS.
- Based on the information obtained, it seems that due to the chronic inflammation with which the syndrome is characterized and due to, among other things, an imbalance in the vaginal microbiome, patients with PCOS are more likely to develop bacterial vaginosis compared to women without the syndrome, says Dr. Iwona Golębiewska.
It is worth paying attention to this problem, especially for women of childbearing age. - One of the many problems PCOS patients face is infertility. Meanwhile, bacterial vaginosis is presumably a potential, though underestimated, source of it. BV may therefore additionally represent one of the unrecognized causes of either infertility or complications of pregnancy
- Iwona Golębiewska, PhD, adds.
The researchers point out that “despite the potential link between PCOS syndrome and the development of bacterial vaginosis (BV), the extent to which this disease syndrome contributes to vaginal dysbiosis and reproductive complications requires further study. However, our study may bring more attention to this problem for clinicians.”
