Journal Article

Vaginal Microbiome Composition in Early Pregnancy and Risk of Spontaneous Preterm and Early Term Birth Among African American Women

Satten, Glen A., Hill, Cherie C., Corwin, Elizabeth J., Dunlop, Anne L., Hu, Yi-Juan, Read, Timothy D., Smith, Alicia K., Wright, Michelle L., Knight, Anna K., Pearce, Bradley D.

2021

Overview

To evaluate the association between the early pregnancy vaginal microbiome and spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) and early term birth (sETB) among African American women. Vaginal samples collected in early pregnancy (8-14 weeks' gestation) from 436 women enrolled in the Emory University African American Vaginal, Oral, and Gut Microbiome in Pregnancy Study underwent 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the V3-V4 region, taxonomic classification, and community state type (CST) assignment. We compared vaginal CST and abundance of taxa for women whose pregnancy ended in sPTB (N = 44) or sETB (N= 84) to those who delivered full term (N = 231). Nearly half of the women had a vaginal microbiome classified as CST IV (Diverse CST), while one-third had CST III ( dominated) and just 16% had CST I, II, or V (non-iners dominated). Compared to vaginal CST I, II, or V (non-iners dominated), both CST III ( dominated) and CST IV (Diverse) were associated with sPTB with an adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 4.1 (1.1, infinity) and 7.7 (2.2, infinity), respectively, in multivariate logistic regression. In contrast, no vaginal CST was associated with sETB. The linear decomposition model (LDM) based on amplicon sequence variant (ASV) relative abundance found a significant overall effect of the vaginal microbiome on sPTB (p=0.034) but not sETB (p=0.320), whereas the LDM based on presence/absence of ASV found no overall effect on sPTB (p=0.328) but a significant effect on sETB (p=0.030). In testing for ASV-specific effects, the LDM found that no ASV was significantly associated with sPTB considering either relative abundance or presence/absence data after controlling for multiple comparisons (FDR 10%), although in marginal analysis the relative abundance of (p=0.011), non-iners (p=0.016), and (p=0.035) and the presence of (p=0.049), BVAB2 (p=0.024), (p=0.011), and (p=0.044) were associated with sPTB. The LDM identified the higher abundance of 7 ASVs and the presence of 13 ASVs, all commonly residents of the gut, as associated with sETB at FDR < 10%. In this cohort of African American women, an early pregnancy vaginal CST III or IV was associated with an increased risk of sPTB but not sETB. The relative abundance and presence of distinct taxa within the early pregnancy vaginal microbiome was associated with either sPTB or sETB.

• Publisher: Frontiers Media SA,Frontiers Media S.A
• Subject: Actinobacteria / African Americans / Birth / Births / Black or African American / Cellular and Infection Microbiology / early term birth / Family income / Female / Gestational age / gestational age at birth / Health disparities / Humans / Infant, Newborn / Intestinal microflora / Lactobacillus / Low income groups / Medicaid / microbiome / Microbiomes / Microbiota / Morbidity / Poverty / Pregnancy / Premature Birth / preterm birth / Prevotella / Questionnaires / Race / Relative abundance / RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / rRNA 16S / Socioeconomic factors / Socioeconomic status / Term Birth / Vagina / White people / Womens health