Sociodemographic characteristics and sexual behavior as risk factors for human papillomavirus infection in Saudi Arabia.
OBJECTIVES
To determine the prevalence and the sociodemographic characteristics and sexual behavior risk factors for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in a hospital-based cohort of women in Saudi Arabia.


METHODS
Cervical specimens and questionnaire data were collected from women attending clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Cervical specimens were examined for abnormal cytology using a standard Pap test and for the presence of HPV-DNA using PCR and reverse line blot hybridization tests.


RESULTS
Approximately 73% of the 400 women tested were Saudi nationals. Nearly 50% were under 40 years old (range 22-80 years, mean±standard deviation 41.20±10.43 years). Approximately 17% of the women were HPV-positive. The most commonly detected HPV types were HPV-18 (34%) and HPV-16 (19%), with multiple infections detected in 10% of positive specimens. Multivariate analyses revealed that smoking and multiple partners were significant risk factors for HPV infection (p<0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Because of societal challenges and an unsubstantiated assumption of low HPV prevalence, few studies have examined sociodemographic characteristics or sexual behaviors associated with HPV in Saudi women. However, a high prevalence of HPV infection was found, with smoking and multiple partners as significant risk factors, in this hospital-based cohort of predominantly Saudi women.
['Alhamlan|F S|FS|', 'Khayat|H H|HH|', 'Ramisetty-Mikler|S|S|', 'Al-Muammar|T A|TA|', 'Tulbah|A M|AM|', 'Al-Badawi|I A|IA|', 'Kurdi|W I|WI|', 'Tulbah|M I|MI|', 'Alkhenizan|A A|AA|', 'Hussain|A N|AN|', 'Ahmed|M|M|', 'Al-Ahdal|M N|MN|']
D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D052685:Alphapapillomavirus D015331:Cohort Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008875:Middle Aged D030361:Papillomavirus Infections D012307:Risk Factors D012529:Saudi Arabia D012725:Sexual Behavior D012959:Socioeconomic Factors D055815:Young Adult
Sociodemographic characteristics Human papillomavirus Saudi Arabia HPV Epidemiology