Prevalence and type distribution of human papillomavirus in a Chinese urban population between 2014 and 2018: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND: Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections among women worldwide. The current study’s main objective is to report the prevalence and distribution of HPV types in an urban population in Beijing, China. METHODS: All the eligible female participants aged ≥18 years were recruited from the Aerospace Center Hospital in Beijing, China between 2014 and 2018. A total of 21 HPV types were detected by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reverse dot blot method and fluorescence quantitative PCR method. RESULTS: In total, 12 high risk HPV types and nine low risk HPV types were detected. The HPV-positive rates were 8.85% in 2014, 7.16% in 2015, 7.60% in 2016, 8.31% in 2017, and 7.72% in 2018, respectively, in an urban population in Beijing, China. Overall, no significant differences in the HPV-positive rates were found over the five years. The peak prevalence of HPV infection in all types was observed in age group of 20–24 in all types. HPV52 was the dominant HPV type across the five years . Among all 21 HPV types, HPV66, HPV26, and HPV59 were ranked the top three in coinfection occurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings are very helpful for HPV screening and vaccination. The associations between gynaecological diseases and the HPV types with high prevalence, particularly HPV52, warrant further investigation.