title: Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) concordance in heterosexual couples.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Few studies have assessed genital human papillomavirus (HPV) concordance and factors associated with concordance among asymptomatic heterosexual couples.
  
  
  METHODS
  Genotyping for HPV was conducted with male and female sex partners aged 18-70 years from Tampa, Florida. Eligibility included no history of HPV-associated disease. Type-specific positive concordance (partners with ≥ 1 genotype in common) and negative concordance (neither partner had HPV) were assessed for 88 couples. Factors associated with concordance were assessed with Fisher exact tests and tests for trend.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Couples reported engaging in sexual intercourse for a median of 1.7 years (range, 0.1-49 years), and 75% reported being in the same monogamous relationship for the past 6 months. Almost 1 in 4 couples had type-specific positive concordance, and 35% had negative concordance for all types tested, for a total concordance of 59%. Concordance was not associated with monogamy. Type-specific positive concordance was associated with an increasing difference in partners' lifetime number of sex partners and inversely associated with an increasing difference in age. Negative concordance was inversely associated with both the couple's sum of lifetime number of sex partners and the difference in the partners' lifetime number of sex partners.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Genital HPV concordance was common. Viral infectiousness and number of sex partners may help explain concordance among heterosexual partners.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Epidemiology Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL 33612-9416, USA. alan.nyitray@moffitt.org
authors.forename: Alan G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Nyitray
authors.forename: Lynette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Menezes
authors.forename: Beibei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Hui-Yi
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Dan'elle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abrahamsen
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Papenfuss
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gage
authors.forename: Anna R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Giuliano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D052685:Alphapapillomavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D003218:Condylomata Acuminata / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D020010:Heterosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012747:Sexual Partners; D055815:Young Adult