Prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV infection among women in Xiamen, China

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of HPV and genotype distribution among female populations in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China, which can be conducive for local governments to formulate cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccine strategies.MethodsCervical swabs were collected from 47,926 participants aged 16–92 years at the Women and Children’s Hospital, Xiamen University, from November 2019 to June 2020. HPV DNA was extracted and detected using conventional PCR, followed by HPV subtype-specific hybridisation. HPV infection rates based on different groups were compared using the χ2 test. HPV prevalence and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated using SPSS 19.0.ResultsThe overall HPV prevalence among the 47,926 cervical swabs that were analysed was 15.13%, of which single, double, and multiple infections accounted for 76.83, 16.70 and 6.47%, respectively. The age-specific prevalence of HPV infection presented a “U” curve with a HPV prevalence peak observed in women aged <20 years. The gynaecology clinic group had significantly higher HPV positive rates than the health examination group (p < 0.001). The five most common HR-HPV subtypes in Xiamen were HPV52, 58, 16, 51, and 39 (2.69, 1.63, 1.23, 1.05, and 0.98%, respectively). The five most common LR-HPV subtypes were HPV54, 61, 81, 70, 34, and 84 (0.92, 0.86, 0.71, 0.45 and 0.35%, respectively).ConclusionOur findings demonstrate that the 9-valent HPV vaccine is recommended for regular immunisation in Xiamen. It is necessary for elderly women to participate in HPV screening to decrease the morbidity and mortality of cervical cancer

Epidemiology of human papillomavirus infection in women from Xiamen, China, 2013 to 2023

BackgroundCervical cancer is primarily caused by HPV infection. The epidemiology of HPV infection in specific areas is of great meaning of guide cervical cancer screening and formulating HPV vaccination strategies. Here, we evaluated the epidemiological characteristics of HPV infection in Xiamen population.MethodsIn total, 159,049 cervical exfoliated cell samples collected from female outpatients in Women and Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen between January 2013 and July 2023 were analyzed. HPV DNA detection was performed using HPV genotyping kits (Hybribio Limited Corp, China). An analysis was conducted on the prevalence of HPV infection, taking into account factors such as age, year, and multiple patterns of HPV infection. The differences in prevalence among age groups and years were compared using χ2 test.ResultsThe overall prevalence of any 21 HPV genotypes was 18.4%, of which the high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) positive rate was 14.6%. The age-specific prevalence of HPV infection showed a bimodal distribution, with two distinct peaks, one at <25 years (31.2%) and the other at 60–64 years (32.9%). There was a downward trend in the prevalence of HPV infection over time, decreasing from 26.2% in 2013 to 14.5% in 2021, and then increasing to 19.0% in 2023. The five most prevent HR-HPV genotypes were HPV52 (4.0%), 58 (2.6%), 16 (2.5%), 51 (1.8%), and 39 (1.7%). Among the positive cases, 76.7% were detected with only one genotype and 23.3% with multiple genotypes. The most common co-infection was HPV52 + HPV58 (0.24%), followed by HPV16 + HPV52 (0.24%), HPV52 + HPV53 (0.21%), HPV52 + HPV81 (0.21%), HPV51 + HPV52 (0.19%), HPV16 + HPV58 (0.18%), and HPV39 + HPV52 (0.17%).ConclusionThe study provided the largest scale information on the recent epidemiological characteristics of HPV infection in Xiamen, and even in Fujian Province, China, which would support making the prevention and control strategies for cervical cancer in the region