HPV infection, risk factors and viral load among Mexican male college students

To determine the prevalence of HPV and the risky sexual behaviors associated to it in a sample of male college students, taking into account genotype and viral load. From 2002 to 2003, male students from the Autonomous University of Morelos State completed a questionnaire and provided self-collected genital samples to detect and quantify HPV. We performed a bivariate and a multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify correlates associated with the infection and to assess the viral load as a function of the viral infecting type. The fragments of β-globin gene and L1 of HPV, were amplified, purified and cloned, to evaluate viral load. Among 253 subjects, HPV prevalence was 19.4%, and HPV16 was the most common subtype. History of STIs (OR=4.8; 95% CI 1.2–18.9), contraceptive pill use by female partner (OR=2.6; 95% CI 1.1–6.3) and exchanging sex for money (OR=4.9; 95% CI 1.2–20) were associated to the HPV infection. HPV16 viral load was 7.8 copies (HPV/beta-globin) compared to 0.9 copies for other HPV types. HPV16 displayed the highest viral load, and it was the most prevalent. It was found that using contraceptive pills by female partners was associated with HPV infection.