Age‐specific prevalence and genotype distribution of human papillomavirus in women from Northwest China

Abstract

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the leading cause of cervical cancer with more than 200 genotypes. Different genotypes have different potentials in causing premalignant lesions and cervical cancers. In this study, we investigated the age-specific prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV genotypes in Northwest China. Materials and Methods: We recruited 145,918 unvaccinated women from Northwest China for population-based HPV DNA screening test during June 2015 to December 2020. And a lab-based test was performed for each volunteer by flow fluorescent technology to identify the genotypes of HPV. Results:The overall infection rate of HPV was 22.97%. With the participants divided into 12 groups according to age, a bimodal curve of infection rate was obtained. And the two peaks appeared in the younger than 20 group and 61-65 group, respectively. The five most common HPV genotypes included HPV 16, 58, 52, 53 and 61 in all participants, which were in descending order of frequency.Among women younger than 25 years old, HPV 6 and 11 were more common and even higher than some genotypes mentioned above. Among women older than 65 years old, HPV 18 and 66 were more common than or as high as the six most common genotypes in all populations. Additionally, the distribution of single and multiple infections in each age group was also different. Conclusion:The baseline prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV in Northwest China was uncovered for the first time. Age was related to the epidemiology of different HPV genotypes. All the results would be of great significance for future healthcare services.

Extensive HPV Genotyping Reveals High Association between Multiple Infections and Cervical Lesions in Chinese Women

“…Furthermore, the prevalence of HPV53 ranked fourth in this study, higher than most of the hrHPV genotypes. That was consistent with the results of many studies from China [4,[21][22][23]. HPV53 has a high prevalence rate both in CIN2+ patients and overall population.…”

“…Our results showed that the multipleinfection rate in HPV-positive women was 26.3%, similar to the studies from China [4,32]. HPV infections were significantly age-specific [6,21]. In this study, the prevalence…”

“…That China is vast in territory and huge in population, coupled with unbalanced development, and insufficient awareness of prevention and screening in earlier years and nonstandard cervical cancer screening in certain underdeveloped areas resulted in the regional differences in the epidemiology of HPV and cervical cancer. The overall infection rate of hrHPV in different regions of China was 8.8%-25.7% in recent years [4][5][6][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. Our study showed that the overall infection rate of hrHPV was 20.3%, which was similar to most reviews or researches on the nationwide prevalence of hrHPV infection in China [4][5][6].…”

“…Disease Markers of hr/phrHPV infection reached a maximum in the age range from 55 to 64 yo, followed by the ≥65 group and the <25 group, while the multiple-infection rate was highest in the ≥65 group and the <25 group, followed by the 55 to 64 group (Figure 2). The hrHPV infection and multiple infections revealed the similar tendency with two peaks of infection, <25 years and 55-64 years groups in this study, conform to the epidemiology characteristics of HPV in China [4,[20][21][22]33], while some studies from other countries showed that multiple-hrHPV infections were more frequent in women under 30 years of age [9,10,14]. The mechanisms behind the age-related infection patterns still need further study.…”

Correlation analysis of vaginal microecology and different types of human papillomavirus infection: a study conducted at a hospital in northwest China

“…At present, the significance of HR-HPV infection, especially HPV16/18 persistent infection, for cervical cancer has been recognized by most clinicians. Our study showed that the HPV infection rate was 20.27%, a decrease from 22.97% in the same region previously ( 9 ), which may be related to higher education, widespread HPV vaccination, or an increase in average socioeconomic level ( 10 , 11 ). HPV infection rate was higher in women aged <30 and ≥50 years; this was consistent with the previously reported double-peak distribution of HPV infection rates, which was considered to be related to the frequent sexual life, smoking, and oral hormonal contraceptive use in young women ( 11 , 12 ), as well as the changes in sexual behavior, low autoimmunity, and the reactivation of menopausal latent HPV in older women ( 13 , 14 ).…”