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This large natural history study, the first long-term, prospective investigation of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, has important implications for HPV screening and management.
Investigators evaluated 608 young women at Rutgers University every six months for three years, asking about sexual behavior and obtaining cervicovaginal-lavage samples for HPV DNA analysis. The cumulative incidence of new HPV infection was 43% (95% CI, 36% to 49%). Risk factors were younger age, Hispanic or black ethnicity (relative risk, 2.1 and 4.4, respectively), alcohol use, more male vaginal-sex partners, anal sex, vaginal sex more than two to six times weekly, and partners with multiple partners. Infections lasted a median of 8 months (95% CI, 7 to 10), a…