Change in microbiota profile after vaginal oestriol cream in postmenopausal women with stress incontinence

Vaginal oestrogen is a treatment for genitourinary symptoms of menopause (GSM), which comprises vaginal atrophy and urinary dysfunction, including incontinence. Detailed longitudinal studies that characterise how the microbiome changes in response to oestrogen are scarce. We compared the vaginal microbiota of 22 postmenopausal women with vaginal atrophy and stress incontinence. A total of 44 paired samples were collected, before and 12 weeks after vaginal oestrogen cream. Microbiota was characterised by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.