COMPARISON OF WOMEN WITH CERVICAL HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS INFECTION AND GENITAL WARTS .1. SOME BEHAVIORAL-FACTORS AND CLINICAL FINDINGS

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.