Prevalence and seroprevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus infection.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the prevalence and seroprevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) in Korean girls and women.


METHODS
We estimated the seroprevalence of HPV subtypes 16 and 18 among 1,094 girls and women aged 9-59 years and the prevalence of genital high-risk HPV among 902 women aged 20-59 years who visited our institution for a medical checkup. Genital high-risk HPV DNA was measured using liquid hybridization and polymerase chain reaction assays. Serum antibodies to HPV subtypes 16 and 18 were measured using a multiplexed competitive luminex technique.


RESULTS
The prevalence of genital high-risk HPV was 12.6% among Korean women aged 20-59 years. It reached a peak of 23.2% at 20-29 years of age, decreasing thereafter but increasing again to 12.4% at 50-59 years of age. Human papillomavirus 56 was the most common subtype followed by HPV 18, HPV 52, and HPV 16. The seroprevalence of HPV subtypes 16 and 18 was 8.7% among Korean girls and women aged 9-59 years. It reached its highest peak of 13.4% at 25-29 years of age and decreased thereafter. It then reached a second peak of 10.9% at 40-49 years of age and plateaued thereafter. The seroprevalences of HPV subtypes 16 and 18 were 7.4% and 2.7%, respectively. In multivariable analysis, the prevalence and seroprevalence of high-risk HPV were correlated only with the number of lifetime sexual partners.


CONCLUSIONS
High-risk HPV infection is common among Korean women. Our epidemiological data on high-risk HPV infection will help to assess vaccine policy and to establish a baseline for estimating vaccine efficacy.


METHODS
III.
Kim
Min-A
MA
From the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; the Research Institute for National Cancer Control & Evaluation, National Cancer Center, Seoul, Korea; the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St Vincent's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Suwon, Korea; the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwang-ju, Korea; the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea; and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
Oh
Jin-Kyoung
JK
Chay
Doo Byung
DB
Park
Dong Choon
DC
Kim
Seok Mo
SM
Kang
Eun-Suk
ES
Kim
Jae-Hoon
JH
Cho
Chi-Heum
CH
Shin
Hai-Rim
HR
Seo
Kyung
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16; D052161:Human papillomavirus 18; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult
D004279:DNA, Viral