Linde Stewart

Bacterial vaginosis in Australian postmenopausal women

Linde Stewart

Principal supervisor: Prof Jane Hocking
Co-supervisors: A/Prof Catriona Bradshaw, Dr Lenka Vodstrcil

Bacterial vaginosis, the most common vaginal condition in women of reproductive age, is associated with considerable reproductive and gynaecological sequelae and increases the risk of acquiring sexually transmissible infections including HIV.  Symptoms can be very distressing and recurrent BV can have a significant impact on a woman’s self-esteem and intimate relations, substantially affecting quality of life.

The global burden of BV in women of reproductive age is high. In contrast, there is very little prevalence data and no real understanding of the impact of BV on postmenopausal women.  To complicate matters, there is no standardised recommendation for the diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis in this age group. This MPhil aims to investigate the impact of bacterial vaginosis on Australian postmenopausal women.

Scholarship title and funding body:  Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship