{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T06:12:03Z","timestamp":1788502323859,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,21]],"date-time":"2021-09-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1632182400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009633","name":"Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009633","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>The vaginal microbiome (VMB) impacts numerous health outcomes, but evaluation among adolescents is limited. We characterized the VMB <jats:italic>via<\/jats:italic> 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and its association with Bacterial vaginosis (BV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs; chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis) among 436 schoolgirls in Kenya, median age 16.9 years. BV and STI prevalence was 11.2% and 9.9%, respectively, with 17.6% of girls having any reproductive tract infection. Three community state types (CST) accounted for 95% of observations: CST-I <jats:italic>L.crispatus<\/jats:italic>-dominant (N=178, BV 0%, STI 2.8%, sexually active 21%); CST-III <jats:italic>L.iners<\/jats:italic>-dominant (N=152, BV 3.3%, STI 9.7%, sexually active 35%); CST-IV <jats:italic>G.vaginalis<\/jats:italic>-dominant (N=83, BV 51.8%, STI 25.3%, sexually active 43%). In multivariable adjusted analyses, sexually active girls had increased odds of CST-III and CST-IV, and use of cloth to manage menses had 1.72-fold increased odds of CST-IV <jats:italic>vs.<\/jats:italic> CST-I. The predominance of <jats:italic>L.crispatus-<\/jats:italic>dominated VMB, substantially higher than observed in prior studies of young adult and adult women in sub-Saharan Africa, indicates that non-optimal VMB can be an acquired state. Interventions to maintain or re-constitute <jats:italic>L.crispatus<\/jats:italic> dominance should be considered even in adolescents.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2021.716537","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,21]],"date-time":"2021-09-21T06:13:29Z","timestamp":1632204809000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":30,"title":["High Prevalence of Lactobacillus crispatus Dominated Vaginal Microbiome Among Kenyan Secondary School Girls: Negative Effects of Poor Quality Menstrual Hygiene Management and Sexual Activity"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Supriya D.","family":"Mehta","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Garazi","family":"Zulaika","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fredrick O.","family":"Otieno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elizabeth","family":"Nyothach","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Walter","family":"Agingu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Runa","family":"Bhaumik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stefan J.","family":"Green","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna Maria","family":"van Eijk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Kwaro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Penelope A.","family":"Phillips-Howard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e6470","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0006470","article-title":"HIV Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors Among Individuals Aged 13-34 Years in Rural Western Kenya","volume":"4","author":"Amornkul","year":"2009","journal-title":"PloS One"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"249","DOI":"10.1016\/j.srhc.2015.06.001","article-title":"Menstrual Hygiene Practices and its Association With Reproductive Tract Infections and Abnormal Vaginal Discharge Among Women in India","volume":"6","author":"Anand","year":"2015","journal-title":"Sexual Reprod. 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