{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T14:19:02Z","timestamp":1789395542200,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,13]],"date-time":"2026-09-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789257600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Urogenital multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) panels report Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) and Mycoplasma hominis (MH) similarly despite different clinical significance. We retrospectively analyzed 176,855 adult specimen-level laboratory records (2018\u20132022). MG and MH were compared using modified Poisson regression and a year-adjusted stacked interaction model. MG was detected in 4215 records (2.38%) and MH in 8024 (4.54%). MG prevalence fell from 4.48% (95% confidence interval (CI), 4.30\u20134.68) at 18\u201329 years to 0.21% (0.16\u20130.27) at \u226560 years, whereas MH fell from 5.70% to 2.39%. Female sex was associated with lower MG (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 0.32) and higher MH (1.44). Age and sex gradients differed significantly (interaction PRs, 1.519 and 4.653; both p &lt; 0.001), whereas no specimen-type interaction reached significance (all p \u2265 0.19). No other target was positive in 52.1% of MG-positive versus 54.5% of MG-negative records, but in 4.9% of MH-positive versus 55.7% of MH-negative records. MH co-detection was strongest with Gardnerella vaginalis (aPR, 9.94), Ureaplasma urealyticum (6.12), and Trichomonas vaginalis (5.48). These profiles support target-specific reporting. Cross-panel analytical differences cannot be excluded because MG and MH were measured on different panels.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens15090971","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T13:05:26Z","timestamp":1789391126000},"page":"971","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Comparative Epidemiology and Co-Detection of Mycoplasma genitalium and Mycoplasma hominis in Adult Urogenital PCR Testing"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3067-4682","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hyeok-Jin","family":"Kwon","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Dankook University, 119 Dandae-ro, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si 31116, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, Seoul 07804, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-3185-8627","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jisol","family":"Jang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Forest Environment and Resources, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-7003-8422","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jeong Su","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Dankook University, 119 Dandae-ro, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si 31116, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8981-5705","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jae-Sik","family":"Jeon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Dankook University, 119 Dandae-ro, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si 31116, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1534-563X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jae Kyung","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Dankook University, 119 Dandae-ro, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si 31116, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"235","DOI":"10.1007\/s10096-019-03686-w","article-title":"Detection of sexually transmitted disease-causing pathogens from direct clinical specimens with the multiplex PCR-based STD Direct Flow Chip kit","volume":"39","author":"Espadafor","year":"2020","journal-title":"Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.5145\/ACM.2017.20.1.1","article-title":"Comparative evaluation of multiplex real-time PCR assays for six pathogens of sexually transmitted infections","volume":"20","author":"Chung","year":"2017","journal-title":"Ann. Clin. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Caruso, G., Giammanco, A., Virruso, R., and Fasciana, T. (2021). Current and future trends in the laboratory diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18031038"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shin, S. (2025). Epidemiologic characteristics of 1.4 million multiplex PCR tests for 12 urogenital and sexually transmitted infection pathogens in Korea (2021\u20132024). Pathogens, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens14111073"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1845","DOI":"10.1111\/jdv.15146","article-title":"Should we be testing for urogenital Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum in men and women?\u2014A position statement from the European STI Guidelines Editorial Board","volume":"32","author":"Horner","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Eur. Acad. Dermatol. Venereol."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"875","DOI":"10.1016\/j.resmic.2017.02.009","article-title":"Mollicutes in vaginal microbiology: Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Ureaplasma parvum and Mycoplasma genitalium","volume":"168","year":"2017","journal-title":"Res. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1302","DOI":"10.1016\/S1473-3099(20)30154-7","article-title":"Prevalence of mutations associated with resistance to macrolides and fluoroquinolones in Mycoplasma genitalium: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"20","author":"Machalek","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lancet Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"641","DOI":"10.1111\/jdv.17972","article-title":"2021 European guideline on the management of Mycoplasma genitalium infections","volume":"36","author":"Jensen","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Eur. Acad. Dermatol. Venereol."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.15585\/mmwr.rr7004a1","article-title":"Sexually transmitted infections treatment guidelines, 2021","volume":"70","author":"Workowski","year":"2021","journal-title":"MMWR Recomm. Rep."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S129","DOI":"10.1093\/cid\/cir702","article-title":"Mycoplasma genitalium: Should we treat and how?","volume":"53","author":"Manhart","year":"2011","journal-title":"Clin. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e371","DOI":"10.1093\/cid\/ciae295","article-title":"Systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between Mycoplasma genitalium and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)","volume":"82","author":"Htaik","year":"2026","journal-title":"Clin. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"437","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmoldx.2012.06.001","article-title":"Molecular methods for the detection of Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma infections in humans","volume":"14","author":"Waites","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Mol. Diagn."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"659","DOI":"10.1093\/cid\/ciab061","article-title":"Are Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum and Ureaplasma parvum associated with specific genital symptoms and clinical signs in nonpregnant women?","volume":"73","author":"Plummer","year":"2021","journal-title":"Clin. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"1835","article-title":"Ureaplasma urealyticum, Ureaplasma parvum, and Mycoplasma hominis: Commensals or pathogens?","volume":"19","author":"Stavart","year":"2023","journal-title":"Rev. Med. Suisse"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Noda-Nicolau, N.M., Tantengco, O.A.G., Polettini, J., Silva, M.C., Bento, G.F.C., Cursino, G.C., Marconi, C., Lamont, R.F., Taylor, B.D., and Silva, M.G. (2022). Genital Mycoplasmas and Biomarkers of Inflammation and Their Association with Spontaneous Preterm Birth and Preterm Prelabor Rupture of Membranes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front. Microbiol., 13.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2022.859732"},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"602","article-title":"Mycoplasma genitalium and Mycoplasma hominis infection in South Korea during 2018\u20132020","volume":"13","author":"Oh","year":"2021","journal-title":"Iran. J. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Park, S.Y., Han, J.S., and Kim, J.K. (2026). Patterns of Gardnerella vaginalis Co-Detection with Ureaplasma urealyticum and Ureaplasma parvum in Adult Urogenital Molecular Testing in the Republic of Korea, 2018\u20132022. Bacteria, 5.","DOI":"10.3390\/bacteria5030052"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"von Elm, E., Altman, D.G., Egger, M., Pocock, S.J., G\u00f8tzsche, P.C., Vandenbroucke, J.P. (2007). The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement: Guidelines for reporting observational studies. PLoS Med., 4.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmed.0040296"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Benchimol, E.I., Smeeth, L., Guttmann, A., Harron, K., Moher, D., Petersen, I., S\u00f8rensen, H.T., von Elm, E., Langan, S.M., and RECORD Working Committee (2015). The REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely-collected health Data (RECORD) Statement. PLoS Med., 12.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmed.1001885"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e24682","DOI":"10.1002\/jcla.24682","article-title":"Coinfections with multiple sexually transmitted pathogens in Republic of Korea, 2018\u20132020","volume":"36","author":"Lee","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Clin. Lab. Anal."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kim, H.H., Jang, S.H., Han, J.S., Jeon, J.-S., and Kim, J.K. (2025). Epidemiological Characteristics of HSV-1 and HSV-2 in 177,599 Patients Based on PCR Testing in South Korea (2018\u20132022). Pathogens, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens14111107"},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"Bioneer Corporation (2026, August 26). AccuPower\u00ae STI8A-Plex Real-Time PCR Kit (Cat. No. STI8A-1111). Available online: https:\/\/www.bioneer.co.kr\/20-sti8a-1111.html."},{"key":"ref_23","unstructured":"Bioneer Corporation (2026, August 26). AccuPower\u00ae STI8B-Plex Real-Time PCR Kit (Cat. No. STI8B-1111). Available online: https:\/\/www.bioneer.co.kr\/20-sti8b-1111.html."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Bioneer Corporation (2026, August 26). AccuPower\u00ae STI4C-Plex Real-Time PCR Kit (Cat. No. STI4C-1111). Available online: https:\/\/www.bioneer.co.kr\/20-sti4c-1111.html."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chiara, A., Ryu, S., Jung, J.-H., and Hwang, S.-M. (2023). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on chlamydia infection in South Korea: A comparison between the pre-pandemic and during-pandemic periods. Front. Public Health, 11.","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2023.1167321"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S1","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/jiw121","article-title":"Pathogenesis of bacterial vaginosis: Discussion of current hypotheses","volume":"214","author":"Muzny","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"392","DOI":"10.1099\/mic.0.034280-0","article-title":"Analysis of adherence, biofilm formation and cytotoxicity suggests a greater virulence potential of Gardnerella vaginalis relative to other bacterial-vaginosis-associated anaerobes","volume":"156","author":"Patterson","year":"2010","journal-title":"Microbiology"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"593","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/jiu131","article-title":"Gardnerella vaginalis outcompetes 29 other bacterial species isolated from patients with bacterial vaginosis, using an in vitro biofilm formation model","volume":"210","author":"Alves","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cmi.2018.04.019","article-title":"The vaginal microbiota and its association with human papillomavirus, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Mycoplasma genitalium infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"25","author":"Tamarelle","year":"2019","journal-title":"Clin. Microbiol. Infect."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4680","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1002611107","article-title":"Vaginal microbiome of reproductive-age women","volume":"108","author":"Ravel","year":"2011","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2028","DOI":"10.2741\/1944","article-title":"Mycoplasma hominis and Trichomonas vaginalis: A unique case of symbiotic relationship between two obligate human parasites","volume":"11","author":"Rappelli","year":"2006","journal-title":"Front. Biosci."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Margarita, V., Fiori, P.L., and Rappelli, P. (2020). Impact of symbiosis between Trichomonas vaginalis and Mycoplasma hominis on vaginal dysbiosis: A mini review. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol., 10.","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2020.00179"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fr\u00f8lund, M., Falk, L., Ahrens, P., and Jensen, J.S. (2019). Detection of ureaplasmas and bacterial vaginosis associated bacteria and their association with non-gonococcal urethritis in men. PLoS ONE, 14.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0214425"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100981","DOI":"10.1016\/j.xcrm.2023.100981","article-title":"Sexual behavior shapes male genitourinary microbiome composition","volume":"4","author":"Toh","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cell Rep. Med."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e00030\u201324","DOI":"10.1128\/msphere.00030-24","article-title":"Sexual transmission of urogenital bacteria: Whole metagenome sequencing evidence from a sexual network study","volume":"9","author":"Carter","year":"2024","journal-title":"mSphere"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"947","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa2405404","article-title":"Male-partner treatment to prevent recurrence of bacterial vaginosis","volume":"392","author":"Vodstrcil","year":"2025","journal-title":"N. Engl. J. Med."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"270","DOI":"10.48022\/mbl.2204.04006","article-title":"Laboratory investigation of sexually transmitted infections in the elderly population of South Korea","volume":"50","author":"Oh","year":"2022","journal-title":"Microbiol. Biotechnol. Lett."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"202","DOI":"10.4111\/icu.2019.60.3.202","article-title":"Sexual behavior and sexually transmitted infection in the elderly population of South Korea","volume":"60","author":"Kim","year":"2019","journal-title":"Investig. Clin. Urol."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"80","DOI":"10.1097\/QCO.0b013e32835c2173","article-title":"Sexually transmitted infections in older populations","volume":"26","author":"Poynten","year":"2013","journal-title":"Curr. Opin. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e00532\u201319","DOI":"10.1128\/IAI.00532-19","article-title":"Resolution and cooccurrence patterns of Gardnerella leopoldii, G. swidsinskii, G. piotii, and G. vaginalis within the vaginal microbiome","volume":"87","author":"Hill","year":"2019","journal-title":"Infect. Immun."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"679","DOI":"10.1099\/ijsem.0.003200","article-title":"Emended description of Gardnerella vaginalis and description of Gardnerella leopoldii sp. nov., Gardnerella piotii sp. nov. and Gardnerella swidsinskii sp. nov., with delineation of 13 genomic species within the genus Gardnerella","volume":"69","author":"Vaneechoutte","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol."}],"container-title":["Pathogens"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-0817\/15\/9\/971\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T13:24:13Z","timestamp":1789392253000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-0817\/15\/9\/971"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,13]]},"references-count":41,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]}},"alternative-id":["pathogens15090971"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/pathogens15090971","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-0817"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-0817","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,13]]}}}