Table 1 Study characteristics and VMB diversity findings of included articles that characterized the VMB composition in pregnant women in the sub-Saharan African region
Author. year Country | Study design | Study population | Number of pregnant participants | Mean or range of Maternal age (years) | Gestational age at sampling (weeks) | Method /technique used to detect microbiota or vaginal microbiota dysbiosis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frank et al. 2012 [30] Burkina Faso | Case-control (nested in within a prospective cohort MTCT prevention clinical trial of azidothymidine and the microbicide benzalkonium chloride.) | HIV-1 infected pregnant women at 36–38 GA weeks (and their live-born children) | 64 women (10 whose babies had a MTCT of HIV and 54 with uninfected babies) | 21–27 | 36–38 | 16S rRNA pyrosequencing |
Borgdorff et al. 2015 [36] Rwanda | Prospective cohort | Sex-workers | 61 | 24 (19–44) | NR | DNA hybridization microarray of 16S rRNA gene probes |
Gautam et al. 2015 [8] Kenya | Multi-country prospective observational cohort study | Pregnant women < 14 GA weeks | 15 | NR | NR | 16S rDNA phylogenetic microarray |
Jespers et al. 2015 [9] Kenya. | Cross-sectional | Pregnant women < 14 weeks gestation | 30 | 24–26 | NR | Quantitative PCR |
Jespers et al. 2015 [9] South Africa. | 30 | 24–26 | NR | Quantitative PCR | ||
Bisanz et al. 2015 [32] Tanzania | Open-label study | Healthy pregnant women between 18 and 40 years and a GA 12–24 weeks | −23 women that that received moringa-supplemented probiotic yogurt. − 24 women without intervention. | 24 | 20 | Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the V4 rRNA gene region of the 16S rRNA gene |
Brabin et al. 2017 [33] Burkina Faso | double blind, non-inferiority, RCT. -intervention: folic acid + iron supplements -Control: folic acid supplement | Healthy nulliparous women between 15 and 24 years | - 144 women in folic acid+ iron-arm group CST was determined - 136 women in folic acid group CST was determined | 17.1 (both groups) | NR (13–15) (both groups) | Schloss wet-lab MiSeq sequencing of the V4 rRNA gene region of the 16S rRNA gene |
McMillan et al. 2018 [37] Rwanda | RCT, blinded and placebo controlled - intervention: probiotic capsules - control: placebo | Healthy pregnant women between 18 and 55 years and a GA < 36 weeks | −18 women in the placebo arm visit at visit one. - 13 women remained in the placebo arm one month after visit 1. | 27.6 | 22 (8–32) | Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the V6 rRNA gene region of the 16S rRNA gene |
Price et al. 2019 [35] Zambia | Cross-sectional | Pregnant women < 24 GA weeks | 256 | 27 (22–32) | 18 (17–19) | Whole genome shotgun sequencing |
Masha et al. 2019 [18] Burkina Faso | nested case-control study - Cases: TV or CT cases - Controls: women that were negative for TV, CT, and bacterial vaginosis | Pregnant women, 18–45 years, ≥14 weeks, and resident of the study area | 51 − 18 TV cases − 14 CT cases − 21 control | NR. In category groups: TV cases: - 18-24: 38.9% - ≥ 25: 6.1% CT cases: - 18-24: 64.3% - ≥ 25: 35.74% Control: - 18-24: 28.6% - ≥ 25: 71.4% | NR. In category groups: TV cases: - 14-27: 55.6% - ≥ 28: 44.4% CT cases: - 14-27: 53.9% - ≥ 28: 46.2% Control: - 14-27: 66.7% - ≥ 28: 33.3% | Ion 16S MetagenomicsTM Kit primer set for V2–4-8 amplification of the 16S rRNA gene |
Gudza-Mugabe et al. 2019 [31] Zimbabwe | Cross-sectional study design | Pregnant women > 18 years and a GA of 15–35 weeks | 356 (42 HIV-infected and 314 HIV-uninfected women) | 29 (24–34) | 29 (25–33) | Sequencing of the V4 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene |