Presentation Type
Poster
Discipline Track
Community/Public Health
Abstract Type
Research/Clinical
Abstract
Background: In United States, 24-40 million women have had at least one Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection. While HPV infection is responsible for over 93% of cervical cancer cases worldwide, it is relatively uncommon in US given screening programs and the introduction of the Papanicolaou test. In Texas, where cervical screening and uptake of the HPV vaccine is lower, the incidence of cervical cancer is 12 cases per 100,000 women. Along the border with Mexico the incidence of cervical cancer rises to 16 cases per 100,000 women, mirroring Mexico’s public health problem: cervical cancer is the leading cause of death in women. Despite successful screening programs and declining incidence of cervical cancer in the US and other high-income countries, HPV infection and cervical cancer are still very formidable public health issues in the lower income countries such as Mexico and the US-Mexico border.
Methods: Women were recruited from a specialty clinic in Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas, a border city in Mexico. Women were eligible to participate in the study if were over the age of 18, reported being sexually active, were not pregnant and had never had a hysterectomy or cervical cancer (n=212). Each participant was given a self-administered questionnaire to be completed prior to having the conventional Pap smear examination. The questionnaire obtained demographic, lifestyle and reproductive histories for participants and their partners. History of diabetes mellitus, tobacco, alcohol use. Examinations were performed using the standard method by placing the woman on an examination table in the lithotomy position.
Results: Participants median age was 38 years old (91%), had greater than or equal to a high school education (54%), were married (84%), reported only having had only one sexual partner (93%), reported using at least one contraceptive method (96%), and approximately 14% reported having had a history of a sexually transmitted infection. For those women whose specimens were available for analyses (n=200), sixty-four percent were found to be HPV infected and 17% were found to have multiple types of HPV. Tested positive for an HPV infection, 39% were infected with high risk types 16 (n=45) and 18 (n=33). When including other HPV high-risk types associated with cancer, the percentage of women infected with a high-risk HPV jumped to 66%.
Conclusion: These data raise important issues about the needs for cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination Mexican women; particularly those living along the US-Mexico border. Data collected during the same time period among women working in a nearby maquiladora found that only 7% of employed woman were infected with a high-risk HPV type despite similar demographic, lifestyle and reproductive histories. Another area of concern is that high-risk HPV infections may be just as high among Hispanic women living along the US-Mexico border. More studies are needed to document the burden of HPV among these underserved populations.
Academic/Professional Position
Staff
Academic/Professional Position (Other)
Associate Research Scientist
Mentor/PI Department
Neuroscience
Recommended Citation
Garza, Noe; Gomez Gutierrez, M.; Robledo, Candace; and Salloum, Ihsan, "Human Papilloma Viruses Infection and Pre-Malignant Lesions in Women on the Texas Mexico Border" (2024). Research Symposium. 18.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/somrs/2024/talks/18
Included in
Human Papilloma Viruses Infection and Pre-Malignant Lesions in Women on the Texas Mexico Border
Background: In United States, 24-40 million women have had at least one Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection. While HPV infection is responsible for over 93% of cervical cancer cases worldwide, it is relatively uncommon in US given screening programs and the introduction of the Papanicolaou test. In Texas, where cervical screening and uptake of the HPV vaccine is lower, the incidence of cervical cancer is 12 cases per 100,000 women. Along the border with Mexico the incidence of cervical cancer rises to 16 cases per 100,000 women, mirroring Mexico’s public health problem: cervical cancer is the leading cause of death in women. Despite successful screening programs and declining incidence of cervical cancer in the US and other high-income countries, HPV infection and cervical cancer are still very formidable public health issues in the lower income countries such as Mexico and the US-Mexico border.
Methods: Women were recruited from a specialty clinic in Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas, a border city in Mexico. Women were eligible to participate in the study if were over the age of 18, reported being sexually active, were not pregnant and had never had a hysterectomy or cervical cancer (n=212). Each participant was given a self-administered questionnaire to be completed prior to having the conventional Pap smear examination. The questionnaire obtained demographic, lifestyle and reproductive histories for participants and their partners. History of diabetes mellitus, tobacco, alcohol use. Examinations were performed using the standard method by placing the woman on an examination table in the lithotomy position.
Results: Participants median age was 38 years old (91%), had greater than or equal to a high school education (54%), were married (84%), reported only having had only one sexual partner (93%), reported using at least one contraceptive method (96%), and approximately 14% reported having had a history of a sexually transmitted infection. For those women whose specimens were available for analyses (n=200), sixty-four percent were found to be HPV infected and 17% were found to have multiple types of HPV. Tested positive for an HPV infection, 39% were infected with high risk types 16 (n=45) and 18 (n=33). When including other HPV high-risk types associated with cancer, the percentage of women infected with a high-risk HPV jumped to 66%.
Conclusion: These data raise important issues about the needs for cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination Mexican women; particularly those living along the US-Mexico border. Data collected during the same time period among women working in a nearby maquiladora found that only 7% of employed woman were infected with a high-risk HPV type despite similar demographic, lifestyle and reproductive histories. Another area of concern is that high-risk HPV infections may be just as high among Hispanic women living along the US-Mexico border. More studies are needed to document the burden of HPV among these underserved populations.