Type-specific prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus by cervical cytology and age: Data from the health check-ups of 7,014 Korean women

OBJECTIVE We investigated the type-specific high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence and distribution according to cervical cytology and age in healthy Korean women. METHODS A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted with 7,014 consecutive subjects undergoing both liquid-based cervical cytology and HPV genotyping test by DNA chip for cervical cancer screening. The type-specific prevalence and distribution of individual high-risk HPV types were assessed according to cervical cytology and age groups (<30, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and ≥60 years old). RESULTS In total, the most common HPV genotype was HPV58 (23.9% of all high-risk HPV-positive subjects), followed by HPV16 (21.8%), HPV52 (16.6%), and HPV18 (11.7%). Regarding cervical cytology and age groups, the proportion of HPV56 strongly increased with the increasing severity of cervical cytology (P for trend=0.041). An age-specific decline in the overall high-risk HPV prevalence was reaffirmed, and the proportion of HPV52 declined markedly with age (P for trend=0.014). CONCLUSION The type-specific prevalence of high-risk HPV types significantly varies according to cervical cytology and age. It may imply that these types have different to develop into precancerous lesions in normal cervix.