Researchers at Columbia University have found that chemicals accumulating in the vagina, possibly from personal care products, may aid in spontaneous preterm birth.
The results was determined after studying 232 pregnant women who used non-biological chemicals in cosmetics and hygiene products.
The study was published in Nature Microbiology.
“In this study, we measured the second-trimester vaginal metabolome of 232 pregnant women,” according to researchers. “We show that it is associated with the vaginal microbiome, and that metabolite signatures are enriched for sPTB among Black women. We identify multiple metabolites that are associated with sPTB, across the cohort and separately for Black and White women.”
“Our results highlight exogenous metabolites with strong associations with sPTB, which we suggest constitute important risk factors. We further uncover intriguing interactions between TB-associated metabolites and potentially suboptimal microbes, and propose a difference in the vaginal metabolism of tyramine in White women who delivered preterm.”
