Age-Specific Prevalence of Infection with Human Papillomavirus in Females: A Global Review

Purpose: Global data on age-specific prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection overall, and for high-risk HPV types 16 and 18, are essential for the future implementation of HPV prophylactic vaccines for cervical cancer prevention. Methods: A systematic review of peer-reviewed Publications was conducted 10 summarize worldwide data oil genital HPV-DNA prevalence ill women. Studies with clear descriptions of polymerase I chain reaction or hybrid capture detection assays were included. Results: A total of 346, 160 women were included in 375 Studies. Of 134 Studies With age-stratified HPV prevalence data (116 low sexual risk populations. 18 high sexual risk populations), over 50% were front Europe and the Middle East (38%) and North America (19%). with smaller proportions front Asia and Australia (21%). Central and South America (11%). and Africa (10%). Across all geographical regions. data oil HPV prevalence were generally limited to women over 18 years of,age. Consistently across Studies. HPV infection prevalence decrease(],with increasing age front a peak prevalence in younger women (<= 25 years of age. In middle-aged women (35-50 years), maximum HPV prevalence differed across geographical regions: Africa (similar to 20%), Asia/Australia (similar to 15%), Central and South America (similar to 20%). North America (similar to 20%), Southern Europe/Middle East (similar to 15%), and Northern Europe (similar to 15%). Inconsistent trends in HPV prevalence by age were noted in older women, with a decrease or plateau of HPV prevalence in older ages in most studies, whereas others showed all increase of HPV prevalence ill older ages. Similar trends of HPV 16 and/or 18 prevalence by age were noted among 12 populations with available data. Discussion: Genital HPV infection in women is predominantly acquired in adolescence, and peak prevalence in middle-aged women appears to differ across geographical regions. Worldwide variations in HPV prevalence across age appear to largely reflect differences in sexual behavior across geographical regions. Further Studies of HPV prevalence in adolescents are needed for all geographic regions. (C) 2008 Society for Adolescent Medicine. All rights reserved.