Incidence, persistence and determinants of human papillomavirus: A prospective cohort study of 10,000 HIV-negative Nigerian women.

Abstract

1510 Background: Cervical cancer is the second commonest cancer in Africa. Persistent High-risk HPV (HRHPV) infection is a necessary cause but little is known about the persistence and associated risk factors of HRHPV infection in African women. The aim of this study was to determine risk factors and incidence of HPV infection in Nigerian women. Methods: ACCME is a multicenter prospective cohort study of host germline, cervical somatic and HRHPV genomics, epigenomics, and vaginal microenvironment; and their association with HPV. From February/2014 to January/2016, 10,000 HIV-negative women were enrolled into the cohort and are being followed up every 6 months. We used SPF25/LiPA10to characterize HPV infection and defined persistent infection as 2 consecutive positive tests done at least 12 months apart. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations between risk factors and persistent HPV. Results: The mean (SD) age of the study participants at baseline was 40 (10) years and the mean (SD) vaginal pH was 5.2 (0.6). About 42% of the participants were positive for any HPV positive and 21% had persistence of any HPV infections. Some, 35% of the participants had multiple infections with any HPV. About 54% of those with persistent any HPV infections had HRHPV; HPV types 52 (25%) and 18 (15%) were the most prevalent and persistent HRHPV types. The incidence of any HPV infection was 6.6/1,000 person-months while that of HRHPV was 2.6/1,000 person-months. Age, body mass index, level of education, marital and socio-economic status and total number of lifetime sexual partners were associated with HPV infection in these women. Conclusions: We defined the incidence, risk factors and commonest types of HRHPV in a large cohort of women in West Africa.