The role of body mass index in incidence and persistence of cervical human papillomavirus infection
Menée au Danemark auprès de 6 809 femmes (âge médian : 27-28 ans), cette étude analyse l'association entre l'indice de masse corporelle et le risque d'infection par le papillomavirus humain ou de la persistence de ce dernier
Purpose: To assess the association between body mass index (BMI) and incident or persistent cervical high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection. Methods: This cohort study included 6,809 women from the general Danish population who participated in two clinical visits (in 1991–1993 and 1993–1995). Height and weight were measured by nurses, lifestyle data were obtained by structured interviews, and cervical cytology samples were obtained for hrHPV DNA testing. We conducted log-binomial regression to estimate risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of incident and type-specific persistent hrHPV infection according to BMI, adjusting for age, education, smoking and number of sexual partners in the past year. Results: We found no increased risk of incident hrHPV infection in women who were underweight (RRadjusted=0.97; 95% CI, 0.64–1.48), overweight (RRadjusted=0.98, 95% CI, 0.82–1.17) or obese (RRadjusted=0.93; 95% CI, 0.63–1.36) compared to women of normal weight. The risk of hrHPV persistence was similar in overweight (RRadjusted=0.98; 95% CI, 0.71–1.34) and obese (RRadjusted=1.00; 95% CI, 0.56–1.79) women compared with women of normal weight, whereas underweight women had a lower risk (RRadjusted=0.32; 95% CI, 0.11–0.95). Conclusion: Overweight and obesity were not associated with HPV incidence or persistence when adjusting for sexual behavior.