FEATURES OF THE VAGINAL MICROBIOTA IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

In current studies, the prevailing opinion is that changes in the vaginal microbiota affect the health of postmenopausal women and significantly provoke the development of vulvovaginal atrophy, vaginal dryness, sexual health and overall quality of life. The composition of the microbiota is one of the main features of the vaginal biocenosis in relation to its structure and dynamics, including the influence of ethnicity, vaginal physiological status and genetic predisposition of a woman. Recently, there has been evidence that after menopause, the taxonomic composition of the vaginal microbiota significantly decreases the number of species, mainly due to the reduction of Lactobacillus taxa, but at the same time the species diversity increases. Significant associations have been identified between the stage of menopause and the types of bacterial communities. Thus, if in perimenopausal women the types of conditions of the CST IV-A or CST Lactobacillus gasseri communities were more often detected, then in postmenopausal women - CST IV-A, CST with a predominance of Lactobacillus crispatus. L.gasseri/Lactobacillus predominant postmenopausal women had the lowest odds of vaginal dryness (odds ratio 0.36, 95% confidence interval 0.12-1.06) and low libido (odds ratio 0.28, 95% confidence interval 0.10-0.74).