The influence of demographic and behavioral factors on the risk of human papillomavirus infection

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was the assessment of correlation between different types of HPV and chosen factors: the number of pregnancies, childbirths and smoking habits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients were examined in the Gynaecology Clinic, Silesian Medical Academy in Zabrze from 1998 until 2000. They were either hospital patients or women subjected to routine cytological examination. The smears were simultaneously collected for both cytooncologic examination and PCR identification of HPV viruses. Cytological smears were classified according to the Bethesda system. RESULTS: A relationship between the presence of HPV and number of pregnancies or childbirths was confirmed as well as the relationship between smoking and the presence of HPV genome. The higher number of pregnancies or childbirths the higher frequency of HPV presence is. HPV presence was more frequent in the group of smoking women. CONCLUSIONS: A relationship between the presence of HPV and the number of past childbirth or pregnancies was found. The statistically significant correlation between smoking and the risk of HPV infection was also confirmed.