Prevalence and genotype distribution of cervical human papilomavirus infection in the pre-vaccination era: a population-based study in the Canary Islands

Abstract

ObjectiveNational Spanish studies show that prevalence of cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the female population is increasingly frequent, with an overall estimate of 14% in women aged 18–65 years. The objective of this study is to know the prevalence and distribution of HPV types in the female population of the Canary Islands prior to the introduction of HPV vaccines and to investigate the associated clinical and sociodemographic factors.MethodsBased on the Primary Health Care database, a sample of adult women (aged 18–65 years) of Gran Canaria (GC) and Tenerife (TF) stratified into nine age groups was carried out between 2002 and 2007. Women were contacted by postal letter and telephone call and were visited in their primary care centre. A clinical-epidemiological survey was completed and cervical samples were taken for cytological study and HPV detection. HPV prevalence and its 95% CI were estimated, and multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression to identify factors associated with the infection.Results6010 women participated in the study, 3847 from GC and 2163 from TF. The overall prevalence of HPV infection was 13.6% (CI 12.8%–14.5%) and 11.1% (CI 10.3%–11.9%) for high-risk types. The most frequent HPV type was 16 followed by types 51, 53, 31, 42 and 59. HPV types included in the nonavalent vaccine were detected in 54.1% of infected women. Factors associated with an increased risk of infection were: young ages (18–29 years), the number of sexual partners throughout life, not being married, being a smoker, and having had previous cervical lesions or genital warts.ConclusionsIt is confirmed that prevalence of HPV infection in the female population of the Canary Islands is high, but similar to that of Spain, HPV 16 being the most frequent genotype. The determinants of infection are consistent with those of other populations.

Detection of 14 High-risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Genotypes Within the Italian Cervical Cancer Screening

“…This is probably due to the longer persistence of the infection with HPV 16 when compared to other HR HPV genotypes (3); this could also be the reason HPV 16 is the most prevalent genotype in our population. Among HPV genotypes, HPV16 also represents the most prevalent in Europe (2.8-8.8% prevalence in Italy) (8), followed by HPV 31 (8,(10)(11)(12)(13). Our results are consistent with data reported in the Spanish population (16.9% vs. 13.9%) (14).…”

“…Studies conducted among women in different European screening programs show a general HPV infection prevalence of 6.4% in Germany, 13.7% in France, 19.4% in Portugal, 26.4% in Denmark (11), and 20.5% in Austria, in the pre-vaccine era (12).…”

The Prevalence, Genotype Distribution and Risk Factors of Human Papillomavirus in Tunisia: A National-Based Study

“…Latin America and the Caribbean (16.1%) [ 22 , 23 ], in Eastern Europe (14.2%) and in South-East Asia (14%) [ 23 ]. In the European continent, the highest HPV prevalence of infection was found in Italy and Spain, where about 5% of the general population is infected [ 24 ]. Data concerning North African countries and Egypt reported a rate of 10.5%, which is very close to our data in some governorates [ 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”

Changing Research Paradigm in the Face of a Global Pandemic: Foreseeable Impact and Adaptive Measures in Academic Research in the Future

“…The drastic change in lifestyle post the lockdown makes asking patients to report regularly, in person to the hospital is rather inhuman and much contrary to the natural instinct of a doctor to protect and save lives [8]. Therefore, data collection is being done using various technological aids like video calls, online messaging systems and phone calls [9,10]. This is currently, the easiest and most convenient way to collect data, stay in contact and consult patients.…”