Prevalence and correlates of cervical HPV infection in a clinic-based sample of HIV-positive Hispanic women.

OBJECTIVES: Puerto Rico (PR), is the fifth highest jurisdiction of the United States of America (US) with respect to HIV prevalence and the leading in cervical cancer incidence. This cross-sectional study describes the prevalence and correlates of cervical HPV infection among a clinic-based sample of 302 women living with HIV/AIDS in PR. METHODS: Data collection included questionnaires, blood and cervical samples. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the magnitude of association (adjusted Prevalence odds ratio [aPOR]) between HPV cervical infection and other covariates. RESULTS: Mean age of participants was 40.3 years (± 10.3SD). The prevalence of HPV infection was 50.3%; 41.1% for low-risk types and 29.5% for high-risk types. Having ≥ 10 lifetime sexual partners (aPOR = 2.10, 95% CI:1.02-4.29), an abnormal Pap (aPOR = 3.58, 95% CI:1.93-6.62), active genital warts (aPOR = 3.45, 95% CI:1.60-7.42), and CD4 counts ≤ 200 (aPOR = 4.24, 95% CI: 1.67-10.78) were positively associated with any cervical HPV infection. Similar results were observed for HR HPV infection. CONCLUSIONS: A high burden of HPV co-infection exists among women living with HIV/AIDS in this population. Given the high incidence of HIV in PR and the higher risk of cervical cancer among women living with HIV/AIDS, HPV vaccination should be promoted in this population.

Cross-sectional study of HPV-16 infection in a population-based subsample of Hispanic adults.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and correlates of seropositivity to human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 in a subsample of adults who participated in the parent study Epidemiology of Hepatitis C in the adult population of Puerto Rico (PR). SETTING: The parent study was a population-based household survey aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of hepatitis C and other viral infections (hepatitis A, hepatitis B, HIV, and herpes simplex type 2) in PR (n=1654) between 2005 and 2008. PARTICIPANTS: A subsample of the last 450 consecutive adults aged 21-64 years, recruited between February 2007 and January 2008, who participated in the parent study and agreed to participate in HPV testing. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The samples were tested by ELISA for HPV-16 viral-like particle-specific immunoglobulin G. Information on sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle characteristics was collected. Logistic regression modelling was used to estimate the prevalence odds ratio (POR) to assess factors associated to HPV-16 seropositivity. RESULTS: Prevalence of seropositivity to HPV-16 was 11.3%. Seroprevalence was higher in women (15.8%) than men (5.6%; p=0.001). After adjusting for age and sex, ever smokers (POR 2.06, 95% CI 1.08 to 3.92) and participants with at least five lifetime sexual partners (POR 2.91, 95% CI 1.24 to 6.81) were more likely to be HPV-16 seropositive. CONCLUSIONS: HPV-16 seropositivity is similar to that reported in the USA (10.4%) for NHANES 2003-2004 participants, although different assays were used in these studies. While future studies should evaluate HPV seroprevalence using a larger population-based sample, our results highlight the need to further understand the burden of HPV infection and HPV-related malignancies in PR, population with a low vaccine uptake.