D. Hellberg et al., COMPARISON OF WOMEN WITH CERVICAL HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS INFECTION AND GENITAL WARTS .1. SOME BEHAVIORAL-FACTORS AND CLINICAL FINDINGS, Genitourinary medicine, 71(2), 1995, pp. 88-91
Objective-To determine if behavioural factors, other than sexual, diff
er between women with cervical human papillomavirus infection (CHPI) a
nd those with genital warts (GW). Design-A structured, personal in-dep
th interview which included details on sexual behaviour, hygiene, gyna
ecological complaints, and demographical characteristics and a gynaeco
logical examination which included vaginal culture and human papilloma
virus (HPV) typing with Southern blot. Subjects-Women (n = 972) who ha
d attended two family planning clinics and one youth clinic for contra
ceptive advice. Results-Out of this female population 66 (6.8%) were f
ound to have CHPI, 39 (4.0%) had genital warts (GW), and 30 (3.1%) wom
en reported genital warts within the last two years. The women with CH
PI had had significantly less education, were more often immigrants, h
ad a vaginal flora change more frequently and were more often smokers
than the women with GW. The women with GW reported lower abdominal pai
n significantly more often, had a leucocyte dominance in the vaginal s
ecretion more often and favoured bathing in a bathtub more than the wo
men with CHPI. After adjustment for sexual behavioural factors the sig
nificant difference between the two groups for bathing in a bathtub an
d lower abdominal pain remained. Conclusion-Although both conditions a
re caused by HPV, there are behavioural differences between women with
CHPI and women with CA.