E-Posters-Bare Versus Hair: Do Pubic Hair Grooming Preferences Dictate the Urogenital Microbiome?

Bare Versus Hair: Do Pubic Hair Grooming Preferences Dictate the Urogenital Microbiome? - Julia Geynisman-Tan, MD

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This study aimed to determine if the genitourinary (GU) microbiome differs in women with and without pubic hair and if the microbiome changes when a woman changes her pubic hair status. Healthy, premenopausal women were recruited and divided into two groups: the "hair" group, where women did not remove their pubic hair, and the "bare" group, where all pubic hair was routinely removed. <br /><br />During the baseline visit, participants provided a vaginal swab and a catheterized urine sample. Then, there was a crossover period where the "hair" group removed all hair for one month, and the "bare" group grew hair for two months. After the crossover, participants provided another catheterized urine sample and vaginal swab. Microbiome analysis was performed by extracting DNA and sequencing the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene.<br /><br />The results showed that at baseline and after the crossover, there were no differences in the diversity of the urine or vaginal microbiomes between women with and without pubic hair. Firmicutes (Lactobacillus), Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were the predominant bacteria in both hair types. However, at the second visit, the vaginal microbiome of crossovers was significantly different from that of the controls, suggesting that the crossover introduced new bacteria into the vagina and made the microbial communities more different from one another. This was not observed in the urinary microbiome.<br /><br />In conclusion, the presence or absence of pubic hair does not determine the diversity or dominant species within the genitourinary microbiome of healthy premenopausal women.

Keywords

genitourinary microbiome

pubic hair

women

microbiome changes

vaginal swab

crossover period

DNA sequencing

diversity

bacteria

urinary microbiome