Bladder health and the urogenital microbiome in community-dwelling adult females

Despite the established association with lower urinary tract symptoms, the relationship between a healthy bladder and the urogenital microbiome is unknown. This observational cohort study of 435 community-dwelling women examined bladder health and function using a validated instrument. Voided urine samples were self-collected, shipped to a repository, and underwent 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Two hundred seventy-four (56%) samples were retained following a limit-of-detection analysis for low biomass samples. A differential abundance analysis showed that Lactobacillus, the dominant genus, was associated with higher bladder function scores, but not global perception of bladder health, while Prevotella and Anerococcus were associated with lower scores. Associations between the female urogenital microbiome exist across the bladder health spectrum. IMPORTANCE There is increasing awareness that human microbiomes impact health and modulate certain health conditions. Recently, investigators developed a validated assessment of bladder health in adult women. This advance facilitated evaluation of the urogenital microbiome, across the adult lifespan and across the spectrum of bladder health in a population-based, observational study.