Prevalence of genital HPV infection in STI and healthy populations and risk factors for viral persistence.
Giulia CiccareseAstrid HerzumAngela PastorinoMarih DezzanaStefania CasazzaMaria Gabriella MaviliaFrancesco CopelloAurora ParodiFrancesco DragoPublished in: European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology (2020)
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a well-established carcinogenic agent. This study aimed to assess prevalence and persistence rate of genital HPV infection in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) patients and healthy subjects. The risk factors influencing the persistence of genital HPV infection were also investigated. The samples were collected with the ThinPrep liquid-based cytology system. Among the HPV-positive patients, those consenting were retested after 12 months. Overall, 145/292 subjects proved HPV positive with a higher prevalence (51%) in STI than in healthy population (43%). The persistence of genital HPV infection was statistically associated with female gender, HR-HPV infection, smoking, and Ureaplasma parvum infection.