Persistence of human papillomavirus 16, 18 and 52 variants in Inuit women from Northern Quebec, Canada

Intratypic DNA polymorphism has been described for human papillomavirus (HPV) types infecting Inuit women in Nunavik, Quebec, a high-risk population for HPV infection and cervical cancer, but there is no previous research on the association between HPV polymorphism and infection persistence in Inuit women. Polymorphism of HPV types 16, 18 and 52 was described in a subset of 64 participants with multiple clinic visits within a cohort of 677 Nunavik Inuit women aged 15–69 recruited in 2002–2010 with testing results. Logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between HPV variants and infection persistence and clearance. Infections with HPV16 lineage A3 variants cleared 3.13 times faster (95% CI: 1.10–8.97) than those with lineage A1 variants. HPV52 lineage C variants cleared slower than lineage A variants (HR = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.08–0.98). HPV polymorphism may be associated with viral persistence for certain HPV types in this population.