Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Cervical Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection among Women in Northcentral Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of cervical HPV infections and its associated socio-demographic risk factors among women attending selected hospitals in some parts of Northcentral Nigeria.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 250 women attending the cervical screening units of three tertiary health facilities. The screening for some participants was based on referral following a risk assessment by healthcare staff. Information about the socio-demographic/risk factors was obtained through structured questionnaires, while HPV DNA was detected from the cervical swab samples collected using Nested PCR.  Socio-economic characteristics and factors were analyzed using frequency and percentages while categorical variables were analyzed using chi-square. P < 0.05 was statistically significant.

Results: The prevalence of HPV infection in this study was 35.6%. Women who participated were between the ages of 20 and 70. The results obtained showed a high prevalence of HPV among women within the age range of 30 – 39 years (17.6%). Demographic data and risk factors such as age range 30 – 39 years (p=0.001; r=0.56), coital age of 15 - 19 years (p=0.004; r= 0.62), use of contraceptives (p=0.002; r=0.54), history of STI (p=0.035; r= 0.47), age at first pregnancy (p= 0.002; r= 0.53), pre-menopausal age (p=0.019, r= 0.51) and multiparity (p=0.033; r=0.49) were found to have a significant association with HPV infection.

Conclusion: The HPV prevalence observed shows increased virus transmission in Northcentral Nigeria. Hence, a need to employ early diagnoses, treatment, and vaccination to avert an upsurge in cervical cancer cases in Northcentral Nigeria.