Abstract
BackgroundBehavioral risks such as age at first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners and partner’s sexual behavior are associated with an increased risk of HPV infection, persistence of the infection and the development of neoplastic precursor lesions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk factors associated with HPV positivity and with a diagnosis of cervical neoplasia in women referred with an abnormal cervical smear.MethodsThis study evaluated a series of 198 women referred with an abnormal cervical smear. Risk factors for HPV infection were investigated using a questionnaire. All cervical specimens were tested for 27 HPV genotypes using the Roche polymerase chain reaction reverse line blot assay.ResultsThe overall prevalence of HPV was 87 %. First sexual intercourse before 16 years of age was significantly associated with a positive HPV test (OR 4.41; 95 %CI: 1.20 − 19.33; p = 0.01). A significant association was also found between this risk factor and CIN 1 lesions or worse (OR 2.2; 95 %CI 0.94 − 5.08; p = 0.03).ConclusionsThe age at which a woman begins to be sexually active is associated with HPV infection and with a diagnosis of cervical neoplasia.
Highlights
Behavioral risks such as age at first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners and partner’s sexual behavior are associated with an increased risk of Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, persistence of the infection and the development of neoplastic precursor lesions
The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk factors associated with HPV infection and with neoplastic diagnoses in women referred with an abnormal cervical smear
Of the women referred with abnormal cervical smears, 87 % (171/198) had an HPV infection, including 42.4 % of women infected with HPV types 16 and 18 and 43.9 % of women infected with other HPV types
Summary
Behavioral risks such as age at first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners and partner’s sexual behavior are associated with an increased risk of HPV infection, persistence of the infection and the development of neoplastic precursor lesions. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection of the genital tract is thought to be the most common sexually transmitted virus. The prevalence of this infection is age-dependent and is higher in women between 15 and 25 years of age. Persistent infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is a prerequisite for cervical cancer and its precursor lesions [3, 4]. The higher risk of HPV infection among younger women has been related to a lack of adaptive immune responses and/or the relatively larger area of cervical epithelium undergoing squamous metaplasia [5]. An example of the fragility of this area is the common presence of blood when cervical smears are obtained in adolescents who have large areas of ectopy [6, 7]
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