Genital HPV infections very low in northern Greece.

2004 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An epidemiologic study conducted in northern Greece found a low prevalence of human papillomavirus infection among women attending gynecologic clinics in that region.

"Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the necessary cause for the development of invasive cervical cancer. Identification of HPV determinants may contribute to the targeting of high-risk groups for cervical cancer. The study was aimed at estimating HPV prevalence and its determinants among 1,296 women attending six gynecological outpatient clinics in northern Greece," scientists writing in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention reported.

The researchers gathered their data via "personal interview and the study of cervical exfoliated cells. HPV DNA was detected by reverse line-blot polymerase chain reaction using the L1 primers PGMY09/11."

T. Agorastos and colleagues, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, reported that "[t]he overall HPV prevalence was 2.5%. After controlling for potential confounders, the two independent risk factors associated with an increased prevalence were young age and parity.

"The prevalence odds ratio (POR) for those younger than 27 years against those older than 42 years was 5.31 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.53-18.44) and the POR ...