TY - JOUR
T1 - Human papillomavirus prevalence among unvaccinated young female college students in Botswana
T2 - A cross-sectional study
AU - Ramatlho, P.
AU - Grover, S.
AU - Mathoma, A.
AU - Tawe, L.
AU - Matlhagela, K.
AU - Ngoni, K.
AU - Molebatsi, K.
AU - Chilisa, B.
AU - Zetola, N. M.
AU - Robertson, E. S.
AU - Paganotti, G. M.
AU - Ramogola-Masire, D.
N1 - Funding Information:
GMP: helped supervise the project, performed statistical analysis and reviewed the manuscript. DR-M: conceived the original idea, helped map the overall direction, planning of the work, and reviewed the manuscript. All authors had the opportunity to review and approve the final version of the manuscript prior to submission. Funding. The study was funded by a grant from the US National Cancer Institute to the sub-Saharan African Collaborative HIV and Cancer Consortia-U54 (grant no. 1 U54 CA190158-01). Conflicts of interest. None.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 South African Medical Association. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Background. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted infection and a causative agent of cervical cancer. It is common in adolescent girls and young women, and the majority of infections are transient and asymptomatic. In Botswana, there are currently no data on the HPV prevalence against which the impact of prophylactic HPV vaccines can be measured. Objectives. To establish a baseline HPV prevalence in an unvaccinated cohort of young women. Methods. Women aged ≥18 years were recruited from the University of Botswana between September 2016 and May 2020. Demographic and behavioural characteristics of participants were collected. Subsequently, cervicovaginal swabs were obtained and tested for HPV using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. We determined the prevalent HPV types, and evaluated the risk factors associated with HPV positivity. Results. A total of 978 young women were recruited. Overall, there were 589 (60.2%) participants with HPV infection and 12 (1.2%) with HIV. The median (interquartile range) age of the study participants was 19 (18 - 20) years. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that significant factors associated with HPV positivity were sexual activity (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.06; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.49 - 2.63; p<0.001), number of sex partners ≥3 (aOR 2.10; 95% CI 1.39 - 3.18; p<0.001), and smoking (aOR 2.00; 95% CI 1.26 - 3.20; p=0.004). Conclusion. Our results demonstrate for the first time the prevalence of HPV in unvaccinated young women in Botswana. We found a high prevalence of HPV infection, with statistical differences with different risk factors. This finding supports the need for HPV vaccination strategies for females prior to sexual debut to reduce the future burden of cervical cancer in Botswana.
AB - Background. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted infection and a causative agent of cervical cancer. It is common in adolescent girls and young women, and the majority of infections are transient and asymptomatic. In Botswana, there are currently no data on the HPV prevalence against which the impact of prophylactic HPV vaccines can be measured. Objectives. To establish a baseline HPV prevalence in an unvaccinated cohort of young women. Methods. Women aged ≥18 years were recruited from the University of Botswana between September 2016 and May 2020. Demographic and behavioural characteristics of participants were collected. Subsequently, cervicovaginal swabs were obtained and tested for HPV using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. We determined the prevalent HPV types, and evaluated the risk factors associated with HPV positivity. Results. A total of 978 young women were recruited. Overall, there were 589 (60.2%) participants with HPV infection and 12 (1.2%) with HIV. The median (interquartile range) age of the study participants was 19 (18 - 20) years. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that significant factors associated with HPV positivity were sexual activity (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.06; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.49 - 2.63; p<0.001), number of sex partners ≥3 (aOR 2.10; 95% CI 1.39 - 3.18; p<0.001), and smoking (aOR 2.00; 95% CI 1.26 - 3.20; p=0.004). Conclusion. Our results demonstrate for the first time the prevalence of HPV in unvaccinated young women in Botswana. We found a high prevalence of HPV infection, with statistical differences with different risk factors. This finding supports the need for HPV vaccination strategies for females prior to sexual debut to reduce the future burden of cervical cancer in Botswana.
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U2 - 10.7196/SAMJ.2022.v112i5.16295
DO - 10.7196/SAMJ.2022.v112i5.16295
M3 - Article
C2 - 35587246
AN - SCOPUS:85130204489
SN - 0256-9574
VL - 112
SP - 335
EP - 340
JO - South African Medical Journal
JF - South African Medical Journal
IS - 5
ER -
