Prevalence of oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV 16/18) infection, cervical lesions and its associated factors among women aged 18–40 years

Authors

  • S. Geethalakshmi Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Sri Venkateshwara Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Puducherry, India
  • Vinod.R Professor & HOD, Department of Microbiology, Sri Venkateshwara Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Puducherry, India
  • Umarani Professor, Department of Microbiology, Sri Venkateshwara Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Puducherry, India
  • Premaleela Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Sri Venkateshwara Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Puducherry, India
  • Joshy M Easow Professor& HOD, Department of Microbiology, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College & Research Institute, Puducherry, India

Keywords:

HPV, Cervical Lesions, HPV 16/18, Prevalence

Abstract

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is considered as the major risk factor for the development of cervical cancer, second most frequent cancer in India. However, the magnitude of the problem and the associated factors remain unrevealed in the Puducherry region. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of HPV infection and factors contributing to the progression of HPV infection to cervical cancer. Methods: It was a prospective cross-sectional study. Women of the reproductive age group aged between 18 to 40 yrs attending the obstetrics and gynaecological outpatient department at Sri Venkateswaraa Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Ariyur, Puducherry were included in the study. This study involved 150 outpatients. The study was performed over a period of 1 year, between November 2013 to November 2014. Socio demographic and clinical data were collected using a pretested questionnaire and detection of HPV infection was done using HPV test (OncoE6TM Cervical Test) specific to HPV16/18 in cervical swabs. Results: The study group populations were aged between 18 to 40 years of age and were married. The demographic data shows that most of the patients (n=24) were 40 years of age followed by patients aged 35 years (n=17). Most of the patients (n=96) were in the age group ranging between 30 to 40 years of age. None of the patients in our study group accepted smoking habit or multiple sexual partners. Majority of the study group population had their first sexual exposure at 19 years of age. Most of the study group women were multiparous. In this study, 17 patients were on oral contraceptive pills. The study population ranged between 18 to 40 years of age with a mean of 31.92 years median of 32 years. Conclusion: There was a relatively low prevalence of oncogenic HPV 16/18 and VIA-positivity in women attending hospitals in the Puducherry Region. Early age sexual contact, high parity, and being uneducated/low level of education were independently associated factors with HR-HPV infection and development of cervical lesions, highlighting the importance of prioritizing the limited HPV testing to those risk groups.

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Published

2021-09-30

How to Cite

S. Geethalakshmi, Vinod.R, Umarani, Premaleela, & Joshy M Easow. (2021). Prevalence of oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV 16/18) infection, cervical lesions and its associated factors among women aged 18–40 years. International Journal of Health and Clinical Research, 4(17), 346–350. Retrieved from https://ijhcr.com/index.php/ijhcr/article/view/2840