Human papillomavirus(HPV) infection is a necessary factor for the development of cervical cancer. The HPV vaccine is currently available, but there is still a lack of large-scale research on the distribution and risk factors of HPV. The aim of this study is to investigate the genotype distribution and risk factors of HPV infection in Yangqu which is located in North China. This study enrolled 10086 women aged <65 years from Yangqu County. HPV genotypes were identified via standard HPV DNA testing. The overall prevalence of HPV infection was 8.92%. The prevalence of high-risk HPV types was 8.80%, and it was 0.38% for low-risk HPV types. Single genotype infection accounted for 67.91% in HPV-positive cases. The most common HPV genotypes were HPV-16, -52, and -58. HPV-18 was only the 11th most common type in HPV-positive cases. Women ≥50 years of age had the highest prevalence rate of HPV, and women <30 years had the lowest prevalence rate. The distribution of HPV genotypes also varied among the three age groups: <30, 30-49, and ≥50 years. The risk factors that contributed to the rate of HPV infection included low educational level, low income, smoking, age at first sexual encounter <23 years old, and number of births ≥3 times. This large routine clinical practice report of HPV prevalence and genotype distribution revealed the characteristics of HPV infection-type distributions in Shanxi Province, which should be considered in formulating comprehensive prevention strategies including vaccination for cervical cancer in China.
Keywords: Cervical cancer screening; China; genotyping; human papillomavirus; prevalence; risk factors.