Abstract
Background
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of 90%–95% of squamous cell cancers. Persistent infection with high-risk HPV can lead to development of precancerous lesions of the cervix in 5%–10% of infected women, and can progress to invasive cervical cancer 15–20 years later. This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of HPV immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies among women of reproductive age attending a reproductive health clinic at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria.
Methods
The study was descriptive, cross-sectional, and experimental, combining the use of a structured questionnaire and analysis of serum samples obtained from 350 consecutive consenting women. The serum samples were analyzed for IgG antibodies to HPV by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results
We found a seroprevalence of 42.9% (150/350) for IgG antibodies to HPV in these women. Women aged 45–49 years and those who had their sexual debut aged 20–23 years had the highest HPV seroprevalence, ie, 50% (57/114) and 51.1% (46/90), respectively. Presence of antibodies varied according to sociodemographic factors, but was significantly associated with educational status, tribe, and religion (P<0.05). Human papillomavirus infection was not significantly associated with the reproductive characteristics and sexual behavior of the women. Antibodies to HPV were detected in 50.0% (9/18) of women with a family history of cervical cancer and in 30.8% (4/13) of those with a history or signs of WHIM (warts, hypogammaglobulinemia, immunodeficiency, myelokathexis) syndrome as a genetic disorder (P>0.05).
Conclusion
Further studies are needed to determine the HPV serotypes and evaluate the risk of natural development of HPV-related malignancies among women in the study area.
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Acknowledgments
We acknowledge all the women who took part in the study and all the personnel from the reproductive health clinic at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria, for their cooperation with collection of samples.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.