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  • Review Article
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Sexually transmitted infections and female reproductive health

Nature Microbiology volume 7, pages 1116–1126 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Women are disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted infections (STIs) throughout life. In addition to their high prevalence in women, STIs have debilitating effects on female reproductive health due to female urogenital anatomy, socio-cultural and economic factors. In this Review, we discuss the prevalence and impact of non-HIV bacterial, viral and parasitic STIs on the reproductive and sexual health of cisgender women worldwide. We analyse factors affecting STI prevalence among transgender women and women in low-income settings, and describe the specific challenges and barriers to improved sexual health faced by these population groups. We also synthesize the latest advances in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of STIs.

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Fig. 1: Incident cases of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis and syphilis in 2016.
Fig. 2: Anatomical sites affected by selected STIs.

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Acknowledgements

We thank N. J. Van Wagoner for advice on the HSV vaccinology section of this paper and M. Kawai from the UAB Center of Clinical and Translational Sciences for assistance in creating figures. O.T.V.G. acknowledges the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation COVID-19 Fund to Retain Clinician Scientists (Grant No. 2021255) and the UAB COVID-19 CARES Retention Program (CARES at UAB).

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  1. Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Olivia T. Van Gerwen, Christina A. Muzny & Jeanne M. Marrazzo

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Contributions

O.T.V.G. led efforts in the literature review and writing of this manuscript. C.A.M. and J.M.M. contributed to the final version of the manuscript. All authors conceived the main conceptual ideas for the manuscript together.

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Correspondence to Olivia T. Van Gerwen.

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Competing interests

O.T.V.G. has received research grant support from Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Abbott Molecular, and serves on the scientific advisory board for Scynexis. C.A.M. has received research grant support from Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Abbott Molecular, is a consultant for Cepheid, Scynexis, Lupin Pharmaceuticals, PhagoMed and BioFire Diagnostics, and has received honoraria from Elsevier, Abbott Molecular, Cepheid, Becton Dickinson, Roche Diagnostics and Lupin. J.M. serves on scientific advisory committees for Merck and Gilead, has received research grant support from Becton Dickinson and GlaxoSmithKline, and serves as a scientific advisor for OSEL.

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Van Gerwen, O.T., Muzny, C.A. & Marrazzo, J.M. Sexually transmitted infections and female reproductive health. Nat Microbiol 7, 1116–1126 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-022-01177-x

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