Sexual behaviour of women with human papillomavirus (HPV) lesions of the uterine cervix.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
To analyze the epidemiological aspects contributing to the transmission of human papillomavirus (HPV) lesions (flat, inverted and papillomatous condylomas) of the uterine cervix, the sexual behavior of 146 women who consecutively attended the department of obstetrics and gynecology of Kuopio University Central Hospital [Finland] with a cervical HPV lesion (with or without concomitant cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)) was recorded. Similar data were collected from an age matched group of women with no signs of gynecological infection. The sexual habits of the women infected with HPV differed from those of healthy controls in most aspects studied, including an earlier onset of sexual activity (P < 0.05), lower number of deliveries (P < 0.05), less regular use of contraceptive measures (P < 0.05), and use of the condom instead of intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) (P < 0.0001). They also differed from controls in giving histories of more frequent episodes of: CIN (P < 0.005), abnormal Pap (Papanicolaou) smears (P < 0.0001), sexually transmitted disease (STD) (P < 0.05) and genital warts (P < 0.001). They had more multiple sexual partnerships (both past and current) than the controls (P < 0.0001 and 0.005, respectively), they had not established permanent partnerships as often as the controls (P < 0.001) and they had a higher frequency of causal relationships (P < 0.0001). Their own and their partners'' sexual hygiene was poorer than in the control subjects (P < 0.05 and 0.001, respectively). The results show the dramatic influence of sexual behavior on the transmission of cervical HPV lesins, which are known to be intimately associated with CIN in many cases.