Is there any correlation between frequent lower genital Tract Infections and Human Papillomavirus Infection at the commune level?

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the association between lower genital tract infection and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection.
 Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of 1,007 sexually active women aged 21 to 70 in three areas of Quang Tri province (Hai Lang, Trieu Phong and Gio Linh). The duration of data collection is from July 2019 to July 2020. The cases were evaluated by gynecology to determine the condition of the vaginal discharge and to record normal and abnormal signs and symptoms. Specimens from cervical canal were inspected under a microscope and tested for HPV-DNA using a real-time PCR assay.
 Results: There were 33 HPV-positive cases, accounting for 3.5% of total cases. Vaginitis caused by bacteria, including bacteria, bacteriophages, and Gardnerella vaginalis, accounted for the largest prevalence of lower genital tract infections at 65.8%, followed by vaginitis caused by Candida fungi at 10.5% and Trichomonas vaginalis at the lowest rate of 0.2%. No statistically significant association was found between HPV infection and vaginitis caused by Bacteria, Gardnerella vaginalis, Candida, and Trichomonas vaginalis, as well as socio-demographic characteristics such as age, education, age at first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, marital status, number of children, and smoking (p > 0.05).
 Conclusion: Despite the fact that lower genital tract infection and HPV infection are not uncommon at the commune level, no association was discovered between the two.