Human papillomavirus infection and cervical dysplasia in female sex workers in Northeast China: an observational study. Background: Women having multiple sex partners are reportedly at an increased risk of HPV infection. Methods: A total of FSWs identified and approached through a local police office and healthy subjects from a single factor undergoing annual gynecological examinations in Shenyang were recruited.
Data on HPV infection and histological and cytological lesions of the cervix were obtained and analyzed. A questionnaire survey was administered to all FSWs with their socio-demographic and behavioral information collected.
The association of various socio-demographic and behavioral variables with HPV infection was assessed. Conclusions: FSWs are at a substantially high risk of HPV infection and cervical dysplasia development as compared with healthy control subjects in Shenyang, China.
Age of first sexual intercourse and post-menopause are two independent risk factors for HPV infection in this special group of population. Intensified and coordinated efforts from government, public health sector, communities and families are needed to reduce the risk of HPV infection in this specific group of population. Cervical cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer death in women, claiming more than , lives annually worldwide [1].
One of the most common types of cervical cancer is squamous cell carcinoma. Cervical dysplasia or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia CIN is the precursor of invasive squamous carcinoma of the cervix. Genital infection with human papillomavirus HPV , particularly the high-risk subtypes HPV and HPV, is playing a major role in the etiopathogenesis of cervical cancer [3]; although the virus alone may not be sufficient to cause cancer [4], virtually all cervical cancers are associated with persistent infection with one of the high-risk types of HPV.
