A cross-sectional analysis about bacterial vaginosis, high-risk human papillomavirus infection, and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in Chinese women

Abstract

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a genital infection that frequently presents in women infected with human papillomavirus (HPV), but the correlation between BV, HPV and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) development is still elusive. We organized a cross-sectional analysis which enrolled 624 participants and obtained 423 samples of vaginal secretions from them, including 193 HPV-negative samples and 230 HR-HPV-positive samples. We used 16S rRNA sequencing to measure the vaginal microbiota diversity in women with different BV, HPV and CIN status, and then calculated risk factors for CIN by logistic regression. We found that the diversity of vaginal microbiota was significantly increased after BV, HPV and BV-infected CIN group. The Observed species and Chao1 index of H.C group showed little difference with normal group, while its Shannon index was considerable higher than normal group. L. iners enriched in HPV infection group compared with others significantly. BV (OR = 0.358; 95% CI = 0.195–0.656; P < .05) and HR-HPV infection (OR = 0.016; 95% CI = 0.004–0.072; P < .001) were risk factors for CIN. In conclusion, we consider BV as a risk factor for CIN. The enrichment of L. iners under HPV infection state may contribute to maintenance of vaginal dysbiosis, and BV infection could facilitate the disturb.