preliminary investigation of changes in pathogen presence in the vaginal microbiome in association with age

Background and objectives: the vaginal microbiome represents a dynamic ecosystem that undergoes significant transformations throughout a woman's lifespan, influenced by hormonal fluctuations and physiological changes. interpreting pathogen distribution and developing suitable therapeutic care techniques for women's reproductive health depends on an understanding of these age-related patterns. this study aims to thoroughly describe age-related changes in the makeup of the vaginal microbiome and the distribution of pathogenic species.materials and methods: vaginal swab samples were collected from 29 subjects, categorized into different age groups (a: 15-30 years, b: 31-40 years, c: 41-50 years, and d: 51-60 years old females). microbiome dna was extracted from the collected vaginal swabs and shotgun next generation sequencing was performed. post-sequencing, data was analysed using in-house pipeline followed by statistical analysis using r programming.results: the results showed that microbial diversity varied significantly with age. group c displayed the most severe pathogenic burden; group a had the highest overall species diversity with 350 bacterial species. group d displayed the greatest overall relative abundance levels of microorganisms, primarily due to lactobacillus rhamnosus dominance.conclusion: this study shows that the composition of the vaginal microbiome changes fundamentally over the course of a woman's life, with each stage bringing with it its own set of microbial signatures, pathogenic risks, and therapeutic prospects.