P-B33 HPV Persistence and age-specific type distribution among Nigerian women

Different trends have been reported on the age prevalence of HPV in Africa. The results of some studies showed there was a high peak of HPV prevalence among younger women, which decreased with age, but among older women the prevalence either decreased, reached a plateau or increased. There is scare data on the relation between persistent HPV infection and age. Women presenting at cervical cancer screening programs in Abuja, Nigeria between 2012 and 2014 were enrolled, data on demographic characteristics, risk factors of HPV infection and samples of cervical exfoliated cells were collected at baseline, 6 and 12 months follow-up visits. DNA enzyme immunoassay (DEIA) and Roche Linear Array HPV Genotyping Test were used to characterize HPV. Persistent HPV infection was defined as positive results on 2 consecutive DEIA tests. We used logistic regression models to estimate the association between HIV and the risk of HPV infections. We enrolled 1020 women, their mean (SD) age was 37 (8), the prevalence of any HPV and persistent HPV was 53% and 17%, respectively. The women were dichotomized into age groups, young: 18-35 (42%) and older: >35 years (58%). The prevalence of any HPV infection was 47% among the young women and 53% among the older women, P-value = 0.004. The prevalence of persistent HPV infection was 44% among the young women and 56% among the older women, P-value = 0.67. The multivariate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) among the young women was 1.30 (95% CI: 0.85 to 1.16, P-value 0.06) for any HPV infection and 0.84 (95% CI: 0.58 to 1.21, P-value 0.35) for persistent HPV infection, compared to older women. These results suggest that the pattern of HPV persistence among young and older women is not different. We will present the results on type specific HPV infection stratified by age, at the upcoming meeting.