Insights into epidemiologic assessments of the microbiome and challenges in identifying microbiome relationships with adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Purpose of review: We describe different methods for microbiome assessment and analysis and highlight some of the challenges of using omics data in epidemiologic studies of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Recent findings: Human microbiomes are dynamic and vary by ancestry and geography. The composition and dynamics of the vaginal microbiome has been associated with risk of preterm birth.

Summary: There are several different methods for characterizing the microbiome. Choice of method depends on the research question and resources available. Added to known challenges of conducting and analyzing epidemiologic studies are the unique challenges associated with microbiome detection and analysis. The resulting omics assessments of human microbial communities have great potential to identify prognostics, diagnostics and potentially therapeutics for adverse pregnancy outcomes.