LIFETIME NUMBER OF PARTNERS AS THE ONLY INDEPENDENT RISK FACTOR FOR HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS INFECTION - A POPULATION-BASED STUDY

Background and Objectives. Previous studies of relationships between g enital human papillomavirus infection and tentative risk factors have yielded conflicting results, possibly because of inaccuracy of the vir al detection methods used and differences in selection criteria. Goal of This Study. To determine human papillomavirus prevalence and identi fy risk factors in a group of young Swedish women. Study Design. This was a population-based study involving comupletion of a structured que stionnaire, analysis of cervical scrapings for human papillomavirus an d Chlamydia trachomatis, and serologic tests for C. trachomatis and he rpes simplex virus antibodies. Results. The prevalence of human papill omavirus infection was 22% among the sexually active women and 4% amon g the virgins. A number of factors were associated with human papillom avirus prevalence in univariate analysis, but logistic regression anal ysis showed that lifetime number of male sexual partners was the only independent risk factor for human papillomavirus infection (adjusted o dds ratio, 7.45; 95% CI, 2.79-19.92 for six or more partners vs. one p artner). Conclusion. Human papillomavirus infection is a prevalent sex ually transmitted disease among young Swedish women, and the lifetime number of male sexual partners is a major risk factor.