An association between persistent Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in women
and cervical cancer has been established. Young women are particularly at risk of
acquiring sexually transmitted infections such as HPV because of risky sexual activity
and physiological immaturity. While at risk though, young women have been shown
to be amenable to health promoting initiatives. There are a small number of
international studies concerning adolescent HPV infection and the risk factors
associated with infection, but there is currently no evidence on the prevalence and risk
factors for HPV in an Australian, sexually active female adolescent population. This
study aimed to provide evidence of the prevalence of HPV, risk factors associated
with infection and the patterns of sexual activity in a female sexually active, senior
high school population in the Australian Capital Territory.
Participants in this study were a convenience sample of 161 sexually active 16-19
year old females who had an HPV test who were attending a senior high school in the
Australian Capital Territory. Nurses and doctors using a clinical record collected
information about sexual and other risk behaviours. Self-obtained vaginal swabs were
tested for HPV DNA using the polymerase chain reaction method and genotyping was
undertaken.
The HPV prevalence in this cohort of young women was 1 1.2%. High-risk genotypes
were found in 55.5% and multiple genotypes were found in 38.8%. There was a
significant association found between HPV infection and having had more than one
male partner with whom vaginal intercourse had occurred in the previous six months.
No statistically significant association was found between HPV and the age of
coitarche, length of time young women had been sexually active, condom use, and
smoking or alcohol intake. A young age at coitarche was common for this group.
Smoking and alcohol use was seen in large proportions in this group.
This is the first Australian study that has examined the prevalence and risk factors for
genital HPV in this demographic group. The HPV prevalence is lower than in
international studies in comparable groups, in similar age groups and much lower than
in older women both in Australia and overseas. With the comparatively low
prevalence comes an opportunity for important public health interventions for this
group including routine Pap smears, vaccination against the high-risk types of HPV
when this becomes available and strategies for young women to reduce their number
of male sexual partners. A substantial amount of young women in this study were
sexually active aged under 16 years. Whilst this was not identified as being a risk
factor in this study, it is both a health and personal safety issue for these young
women. There is a demonstrated need for health promotion strategies for this cohort
about the consumption of safe levels of alcohol and for smoking cessation. Further
research is recommended that includes a repetition of this study with a larger sample,
the use of a prospective study design to identify trends in infection and examination of
HPV prevalence and risk factors for a variety of populations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218712 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | O'Keefe, Elissa J., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Health Sciences |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Elissa J. O'Keefe |
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