Distribution Characteristics of Human Papillomavirus Infection: A Study Based on Data from Physical Examination

Objective: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the primary cause of cervical cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and type distribution of HPV DNA positive in women undergoing routine physical examination. Methods: 2,452 women were enrolled between March and November 2013. Participants were tested for 23 HPV types using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse dot blot hybridization. HPV DNA detection prevalence was estimated in different age groups. Results: Mean age (SD) of study participants was 47.7 (9.8) years. Overall HPV-positive prevalence was 18.9% (463/2452), and 22 out of 23 known subtypes were detected. Single HPV subtype prevalence of infection was 14.4%, and multiple prevalence of infection was 4.5%. The prevalence of HPV DNA in different age groups (20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, ≥70) were 9.3%, 15.6%, 17.1%, 22.1%, 23.0% and 20.0%, respectively. HPV 52 was the most prevalent HPV type, followed by HPV 58, 53, 16 and 68, in descending order of prevalence. The top five low-risk types of HPV were (in descending order): HPV81, 43, 6, 42 and 11. Conclusions: Overall HPV DNA detection prevalence increased significantly with increasing age. Concerning high-risk HPV types, HPV 52, 58, 53, 16 and 51 were the most common in the study.