Research article
Prevalence of HPV infection among Greek women attending a gynecological outpatient clinic
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* Corresponding author: Athanasia Papazafiropoulou pathan@ath.forthnet.gr
1 Surgical Department, Naval Hospital of Athens, 70 Dinokratous, 115 21 Athens, Greece
2 3rdDepartment of Internal Medicine and Center of Diabetes, General Hospital of Nikaia "Ag. Panteleimon", 3 D.Mantouvalou, 184 54 Nikaia, Greece
3 Department of Internal Medicine, "Elena Venizelou" Hospital, Faculty of Nursing, University of Athens, 2 E.Venizelou, 115 21 Athens, Greece
BMC Infectious Diseases 2010, 10:27 doi:10.1186/1471-2334-10-27
Published: 15 February 2010Abstract
Background
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a causative factor for cervical cancer. Early detection of high risk HPV types might help to identify women at high risk of cervical cancer. The aim of the present study was to examine the HPV prevalence and distribution in cervical smears in a sample of Greek women attending a gynecological outpatient clinic and to explore the determinants of the infection.
Methods
A total of 225 women were studied. All women underwent a regular gynecological control. 35 HPV types were studied; 6, 11, 16, 18, 26, 31, 33, 35, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 58, 59, 61, 62, 66, 68, 70, 71, 72, 73, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 and 89. Also, basic demographic information, sociodemographic characteristics and sexual behavior were recorded.
Results
HPV was detected in 22.7% of the study population. The percentage of the newly diagnosed women with HPV infection was 17.3%. HPV-16 was the most common type detected (5.3%) followed by HPV-53 (4.9%). 66.2% of the study participants had a Pap test during the last year without any abnormalities. HPV infection was related positively with alcohol consumption (OR: 2.19, 95% CI: 1.04-4.63, P = 0.04) and number of sexual partners (OR: 2.16, 95% CI: 1.44-3.25, P < 0.001), and negatively with age (OR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.87-0.99, P = 0.03), and monthly income (OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.44-0.89, P = 0.01).
Conclusion
The prevalence of HPV in women attending an outpatient clinic is high. Number of sexual partners and alcohol consumption were the most significant risk factors for HPV infection, followed by young age and lower income.