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Prostitution and other cofactors in preinvasive and invasive lesions of the cervix
Author(s) -
T. NÚÑEZ José,
DELGADO Mariela,
GIRÓN Hugo,
PINO Gloria
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1479-828x.2004.00222.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cervix , sexual intercourse , gynecology , logistic regression , pap test , obstetrics , biopsy , cervical cancer , pathology , cancer , population , cervical cancer screening , environmental health
Abstract Objective: To examine risk factors for preinvasive and invasive lesions of the cervix in Venezuelan female sex workers (FSW). Methods: A total of 438 FSW were analysed. Each FSW had their clinical history recorded, a gynaecological examination, a Pap smear and a colposcopic examination of the cervix. A cervical biopsy was taken under colposcopic guidance when there was an abnormal epithelium. The statistical methods used were Student's t ‐test, χ 2 test and logistic regression. Results: The sex workers’ mean age was 32.1 ± 7.9 years old (mean ± standard deviation). The age of the first sexual intercourse activity for the FSW was 15.9 ± 2.1 years. Sixty‐four of the 84 women (76.2%) who had cervical biopsies had preinvasive and invasive lesions; 41 (9.4%) had cervical intra‐epithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1, 12 (2.7%) had CIN 2, eight (1.8%) had CIN 3, two (0.5%) had microinvasive carcinoma, and one (0.2%) had invasive carcinoma. Forty of these 64 women (62.5%) with preinvasive or invasive lesions had a concurrent histological diagnosis of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection ( P < 0.0001). The FSW with cervical pathology were younger ( P < 0.05) and had their first sexual intercourse earlier ( P < 0.02) than FSW with no pathology. Two hundred and seventy‐six (63%) of the FSW were current smokers, and 47 of these women (17.6%) had cervical pathology ( P < 0.03). Conclusions: First sexual experience before 20 years of age, cigarette smoking and HPV infection were high‐risk factors for preinvasive and invasive lesions of the cervix in Venezuelan FSW.