Oncogenic Human Papillomavirus Infections in 18- to 24-Year-Old Female Online Daters.
BACKGROUND
Although risk factors for HPV infections in young women are well defined, the risk associated with meeting male sex partners via the Internet is unclear.


METHODS
We analyzed cross-sectional data from 282 women aged 18 to 24 years who reported using Internet dating Web sites in the past year. Women were mailed vaginal self-sampling kits for polymerase chain reaction-based HPV genotyping (including 19 oncogenic types) and sexual behavior and health history questionnaires. Generalized linear models were used to evaluate risk factors for prevalent oncogenic HPV infections.


RESULTS
Thirty-five percent of women reported having met a male sex partner via the Internet in the past 6 months, and 42% reported a history of HPV vaccination. The prevalence of oncogenic HPV infection was 37%, and 9% of women tested positive for HPV-16 or HPV-18. Having met a male sex partner via the Internet in the past 6 months was not significantly associated with oncogenic HPV infection. In multivariate analyses, variables associated with an increased likelihood of oncogenic HPV infection included male partners in the past 6 months who were reported to have at least 1 concurrent partnership (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-2.06) and not always using condoms with male partners in the past 6 months (aPR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.05-3.30). Self-reporting a history of receiving at least 1 dose of HPV vaccine was inversely associated with testing positive for HPV-16 or HPV-18 (aPR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.16-0.97).


CONCLUSIONS
Although measures of recent sexual behavior were associated with prevalent oncogenic HPV infection, male partners met online were not associated with an increased likelihood of infection in this cohort of young women.
From the Departments of *Nursing and †Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; ‡FIDALAB, Seattle, WA; §Universidad Estatal de Milagro, Milagro, Ecuador; and Departments of ¶Biostatistics and ∥Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Alexis
A
Barrere
Joshua E
JE
Stern
Qinghua
Q
Feng
James P
JP
Hughes
Rachel L
RL
Winer
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D060005:Genotyping Techniques; D006306:Health Surveys; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D052161:Human papillomavirus 18 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult
D004279:DNA, Viral