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Updated: Jan 30, 2026
Author Spotlight: Emerging Technologies and Advanced Tools for Decoding Metabolomics Data Analysis
Published on: November 10, 2023
Differential sexual network connectivity offers a parsimonious explanation for population-level variations in the
Chris R Kenyon1, Wim Delva2,3,4,5,6, Rebecca M Brotman7
1STI Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium. ckenyon@itg.be.
Background:
The prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and vaginal microbiota types varies dramatically between different populations around the world. Understanding what underpins these differences is important, as high-diversity microbiotas associated with BV are implicated in adverse pregnancy outcomes and enhanced susceptibility to and transmission of sexually transmitted infections.
Main Text:
We hypothesize that these variations in the vaginal microbiota can, in part, be explained by variations in the connectivity of sexual networks. We argue: 1) Couple-level data suggest that BV-associated bacteria can be sexually transmitted and hence high sexual network connectivity would be expected to promote the spread of BV-associated bacteria. Epidemiological studies have found positive associations between indicators of network connectivity and the prevalence of BV; 2) The relationship between BV prevalence and STI incidence/prevalence can be parsimoniously explained by differential network connectivity; 3) Studies from other mammals are generally supportive of the association between network connectivity and high-diversity vaginal microbiota.
Conclusion:
To test this hypothesis, we propose a combination of empirical and simulation-based study designs.
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