Condyloma and intraepithelial neoplasia of the uterine cervix: a case-control study

Cervical condyloma and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia are related to human papillomavirus infections, some of which may be involved in the etiology of cancer of the uterine cervix. This case-control study was designed to assess the relation of age at first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, and cigarette smoking to the risk of cervical condyloma and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Cases and controls were premenopausal women under age 50 years who had been referred for examination at the Colposcopy Clinic of Saint-Sacrement Hospital in Quebec from 1982 to 1985. These were 136 cases of histologically confirmed cervical condyloma and 247 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. The 137 controls were women without anogenital condyloma, dysplasia, or carcinoma. Information on personal characteristics and exposures of subjects was obtained by interview. Associations observed with age at first intercourse were different for condyloma and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Relative risk of condyloma varied little with age at first intercourse. In contrast, relative risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia increased as age at first intercourse decreased. For the two types of lesions, relative risk was elevated among women with more than one sexual partner and increased steadily with increasing number of cigarettes smoked per day. The association with cigarette smoking was, however, somewhat stronger for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.