Prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus infection among Kazakhstani women attending gynecological outpatient clinics.

Objectives: To conduct a nationwide high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection genotyping analysis of women attending gynecological clinics and identify factors associated with HR-HPV infection.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey-based study with 759 participants. Demographics, lifestyle, and medical history data were collected by questionnaire completed by gynecologists during patients' visits. Cervical swabs were used for HPV genotyping using AmpliSens kit. Data analysis included descriptive statistics consisting of mean values, standard deviations, and frequencies, where applicable. Ordinal logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with HPV infection status.

Results: The mean age of participants was 36.51 ± 10.09 years. The majority of participants were aged 26-35 years. Less than half of the women (39%) were HPV positive; 26% had single HR-HPV, and 13% had multiple HR-HPV infection. The most prevalent HR-HPV genotypes were HPV-16 (54%), HPV-51 (7%), HPV-68 (7%), and HPV-18 (6%). Ordinal logistic regression demonstrated that older age, not being single, and having a history of sexually transmitted infections, decrease the odds of HPV infection.

Conclusion: This study identified high prevalence of HR-HPV among Kazakhstani women. Our results showed that adding HPV testing to compulsory cervical cancer screening in Kazakhstan could improve the screening program and decrease cervical cancer rates.