title: Higher prevalence of human papillomavirus infection in adolescent and young adult girls belonging to different Indian tribes with varied socio-sexual lifestyle.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite high prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer in Indian women, no study has been done in tribal populations whose socio-sexual lifestyle is different. Therefore, HPV screening has been carried out in pre-adolescent, adolescent and young adult tribal girls using self-collected urine samples.
  
  
  METHODS
  20-35 ml self-collected midstream urine samples were obtained from a total of 2278 healthy tribal girls (9-25 years) comprising pre-adolescent, adolescent and young adults from three Indian states: Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. β-globin positive 2034 samples were employed for HPV detection and genotyping.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall prevalence of HPV infection in tribal girls was 12.9% (262/2034). More than 65% (172/262) of them were infected with HR-HPV types of which HPV16 was the most predominant type (54%). Young adult girls aged 18-25 years showed a significantly higher prevalence of HPV infection (19.2%; OR = 3.36; 95% CI 2.97-6.34, P<0.001) as compared to that in adolescent (11.4%; OR = 1.82; 95% CI 1.20-2.76, P<0.01) or pre-adolescent girls (6.6%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is a first study showing significantly a very high prevalence of HPV infection in adolescent and young adult tribal girls possibly due to different socio-sexual behavior, indicating a serious health concern for Indian tribal women.
authors.affiliation: Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Delhi, Delhi, India; School of Biosciences and Clinical Research, ApeejayStya University, Sohna-Palwal road, Sohna, Gurgaon, India.
authors.forename: Kirti
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences and Clinical Research, ApeejayStya University, Sohna-Palwal road, Sohna, Gurgaon, India.
authors.forename: Atul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kathait
authors.affiliation: Sri MaaSardaArogyaDham, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.
authors.forename: Asha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, M.G.M. Medical College & Hospital, Sakchi, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India.
authors.forename: Karmila
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kujur
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, District Hospital, Harda, Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Shirish
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raghuwanshi
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Oncology, Institute of Cytology & Preventive Oncology (ICMR), Noida, India.
authors.forename: Alok Chandra
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Bharti
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences and Clinical Research, ApeejayStya University, Sohna-Palwal road, Sohna, Gurgaon, India.
authors.forename: Asha Chandola
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Saklani
authors.affiliation: Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Bhudev Chandra
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Das
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16 / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008019:Life Style; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D044382:Population Groups; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D055815:Young Adult