Near-infrared spectroscopy with chemometric analysis distinguishes genitourinary syndrome of menopause in vaginal samples.

BACKGROUND

Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) is a prevalent condition characterized by estrogen deficiency-induced vulvovaginal and urinary symptoms, yet lacks objective diagnostic biomarkers.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate whether near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy combined with multivariate chemometrics analysis of vaginal samples could serve as a quantitative diagnostic tool for GSM.

DESIGN

We applied NIR spectroscopy combined with multivariate chemometric analysis to vaginal samples from 81 postmenopausal women (50 GSM cases, 31 controls), assessing vaginal health via the Vaginal Health Index (VHI).

RESULTS

Women with GSM had significantly lower total VHI scores. GSM samples exhibited distinct spectral signatures related to tissue hydration, lipids, and proteins. Classification models using genetic and successive projections algorithms coupled with linear discriminant analysis achieved 100% accuracy in independent validation.

CONCLUSION

For the first time, this study demonstrated that NIR spectroscopy with chemometrics enables non-invasive, objective discrimination of GSM, supporting a shift from subjective symptom assessment toward quantitative molecular phenotyping. This study offers a novel perspective on the spectral differences associated with GSM. This approach holds promise for point-of-care diagnostics and monitoring therapeutic response, pending further validation. These findings should be regarded as hypothesis-generating, derived from a single-center pilot cohort, and require confirmation in larger, multicenter, prospective studies incorporating microbiome analysis before clinical implementation.