Human vaginal pH and microbiota: an update

Abstract

A woman’s vaginal pH has many implications on her health and it can be a useful tool in disease diagnosis and prevention. For that reason, the further examination of the relationship between the human vaginal pH and microbiota is imperative. In the past several decades, much has been learned about the physiological mechanisms modulating the vaginal pH, and exogenous/genetic factors that may influence it. A unified, coherent understanding of these concepts is presented to comprehend their interrelationships and their cumulative effect on a woman’s health. In this review, we explore research on vaginal pH and microbiota throughout a woman’s life, vaginal intermediate cell anaerobic metabolism and net proton secretion by the vaginal epithelial, and the way these factors interact to acidify the vaginal pH. This review provides foundational information about what a microbiota is and its relationship with human physiology and vaginal pH. We then evaluate the influence of physiological mechanisms, demographic factors, and propose ideas for the mechanisms behind their action on the vaginal pH.

Chinese abstract

阴道pH水平对于维持女性健康和疾病诊断及预防有重要意义和作用。因此, 需要深入研究阴道pH值与微生物群之间的关系。在近几十年的研究中, 对阴道pH值的生理调节机制以及外源性/遗传因素对其的作用已有所了解。而将现有的理论概念整合有助于了解它们之间的相互关系及对女性健康的影响。本综述旨在探讨阴道pH值和微生物群对女性的影响、阴道中间细胞无氧代谢和阴道上皮的净质子分泌及以上因素与阴道pH值之间的相互作用。本文就微生物群的基本概念及其与人体生理和阴道pH值的关系进行综述, 并对生理机制和人口统计学因素的影响进行评估, 且就它们对阴道pH值的作用机制提出相关设想。

Keywords:

• pH
• vagina
• lactobacilli
• estrogen
• microbiota

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.