Association between co-infection with Chlamydia trachomatis or Mycoplasma genitalium and cervical lesions in HPV-positive population in Hunan, China: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) among HPV-positive women undergoing colposcopy at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Hunan, China. Additionally, we aimed to assess the impact of C. trachomatis or M. genitalium co-infection with HPV on the severity of cervical lesions. METHODS: We collected HPV data, cervical cytology results, and demographic information from 439 women attending colposcopy. Cervical swabs were obtained for simultaneous amplification testing (SAT) of C. trachomatis and M. genitalium. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between sexually transmitted pathogens and cervical lesions. RESULTS: Among the participants, C. trachomatis was detected in 17 (3.87%) individuals, and M. genitalium in 16 (3.64%) individuals. There was no co-infection of C. trachomatis and M. genitalium. The highest prevalence of M. genitalium was observed in women aged 19–30 years (10.20%; 95% CI, 1.41-18.99%), with a subsequent decline in prevalence with increasing age (Ptrend = 0.014). The most common HPV subtype in our study was HPV52 (30.79%), followed by HPV16 (18.62%), HPV58 (16.95%), and HPV53 (10.02%). Infection with HPV16 (OR = 3.43, 95% CI, 2.13–5.53), HPV31 (OR = 3.70, 95% CI, 1.44–9.50), and HPV33 (OR = 3.71, 95% CI, 1.43–9.67) was associated with an increased severity of cervical lesions, while HPV53 infection was not likely to lead to advanced cervical lesions (OR = 0.45, 95% CI, 0.23–0.89). The leukocyte level in vaginal secretions (P = 0.042) and cervical cytology results (P < 0.001) showed associations with the degree of cervical lesions. However, there was no significant association between C. trachomatis or M. genitalium infection and the severity of cervical lesions, nor with their co-infection with HPV16. CONCLUSIONS: There was no correlation between co-infection of Chlamydia trachomatis or Mycoplasma genitalium and the degree of cervical lesions in HPV-positive population in Hunan, China. Our findings emphasized the need to pay more attention to M. genitalium infection among young women. Increased levels of leukocytes in vaginal secretions may be linked to cervical lesions. HPV16, HPV31, and HPV33 in Hunan province, China, may exhibit higher cervical pathogenicity.