Age-specific prevalence of human papilloma virus infection among Nigerian women.

Sally N Akarolo-Anthony,Ayo O Famooto,Eileen O Dareng,Olayinka B Olaniyan,Cosette M Wheeler,Richard Offiong,Clement A Adebamowo

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-656

Abstract

BackgroundInconsistent trends in HPV prevalence by age have been described in Africa. We examined the age prevalence pattern and distribution of 37 HPV-DNA types among urban Nigerian women.MethodsThe study population was a sample of 278 women who presented to cervical cancer screening programs in Abuja, Nigeria, between April and August 2012. Using a nurse administered questionnaire, information on demographic characteristics and risk factors of cervical cancer was collected and samples of cervical exfoliated cells were obtained from all participants. Roche Linear Array HPV Genotyping Test® was used to characterize prevalent HPV and log-binomial regression models were used to examine the association between potential correlates and the prevalence of HPV infection.ResultsThe mean age (SD) of the women enrolled was 38 (8) years. The overall prevalence of HPV was 37%. HPV 35 was the most prevalent HPV type in the study population. Among women age ≤ 30 years, 52% had HPV infection compared to 23% of those women who were older than 45 years (p = 0.006). We observed a significant linear association between age and the prevalence of HPV infections. The prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) was 2.26 (1.17, 4.34) for any HPV infection, 3.83 (1.23, 11.94) for Group 1 HPV (definite carcinogens), and 2.19 (0.99, 4.84) for Group 2a or 2b HPV (probable or possible carcinogens) types, among women aged 18–30 years, compared to women who were older than 45 years.ConclusionThe prevalence of HPV infection was highest among younger women and decreased steadily with age among this population of urban Nigerian women.

Highlights

Inconsistent trends in Human papilloma viruses (HPV) prevalence by age have been described in Africa
HPV 35, a group 1 type, was the most prevalent type of HPV found in this study, it was found in 5% (14/275) of the women studied
Other group 1 HPV types found among the women studied were HPV 56, 58, 45 and 59 in decreasing order of prevalence

Summary

Introduction

Inconsistent trends in HPV prevalence by age have been described in Africa. We examined the age prevalence pattern and distribution of 37 HPV-DNA types among urban Nigerian women. Human papilloma viruses (HPV) are small DNA viruses, of which there are several types associated with benign and malignant conditions of the cervix, penis, vulva, vagina, anus and oropharynx [1,2]. These viruses are ubiquitous and most women in the world are probably infected with at least one type of HPV during their sexual life giving a point prevalence of 10.1% [3]. In Gambia, HPV prevalence remained relatively constant among women aged 15 to 54 years [17] The reason for these different age prevalence patterns in Africa remains unclear. Possible reasons include variations in sexual behavioral practices, sexual hygiene, co-morbidities, polygamy, male sexual partner behavior and male circumcision [15,16,18]

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Conclusion