ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Risk factors for genital HPV DNA in men resemble those found in women: a study of male attendees at a Danish STD clinic

E I Svare¹, S K Kjaer¹, A M Worm², A Østerlind², C J L M Meijer³ and A J C van den Brule³

¹ Danish Cancer Society, Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Copenhagen, Denmark
² Copenhagen Outpatient Venereal Clinic, Rudolph Berghs Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
³ Department of Pathology, University Hospital Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Edith Ingerslev Svare, Danish Cancer Society, Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Strandboulevarden 49, Box 839, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark;
svare{at}cancer.dk

Objectives: Genital infection with certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most important risk factor for cervical cancer. The male sexual partner is supposed to be the vector of the infection. However, the knowledge of risk factors for genital HPV DNA in men is limited. The objective of this paper is to study the risk factors for HPV infection in men and to compare them with those found in women, including the study of whether there are different risk profiles for oncogenic and non-oncogenic HPV types.

Methods: From a sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinic in Denmark, 216 men were consecutively included. A personal interview was done and material for genital HPV DNA detection was obtained with swabs. HPV DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Odds ratios (OR) for HPV as well as for oncogenic and non-oncogenic types separately were computed with a 95% confidence interval (CI) by means of unconditional multiple logistic regresssion.

Results: The most important predictors of any HPV were lifetime number of sex partners (OR = 4.3; 95% CI 1.4 to 13.1 for 25–39 v 1–9 partners), young age, and being uncircumcised. The most important risk factor for oncogenic HPV types was lifetime number of partners, whereas number of partners in the past year and ever having genital warts were risk factors for the non-oncogenic HPV types. Young age predicted risk of both oncogenic and non-oncogenic HPV types.

Conclusions: Most risk factors for HPV DNA detection in men resemble those found in women. As in women, the risk factor profile for the oncogenic HPV types was different from that of the non-oncogenic HPV types.

Keywords: human papillomavirus; men; risk factors

Abbreviations: GP, general primers; HPV, human papillomavirus; PBS, phosphate buffered saline; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; STD, sexually transmitted disease; TS-PCR, type specific polymerase chain reaction

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Dickson, N. P., Ryding, J., van Roode, T., Paul, C., Herbison, P., Dillner, J., Skegg, D. C.G. (2009). Male Circumcision and Serologically Determined Human Papillomavirus Infection in a Birth Cohort. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 18: 177-183 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Giuliano, A. R., Lazcano-Ponce, E., Villa, L. L., Flores, R., Salmeron, J., Lee, J.-H., Papenfuss, M. R., Abrahamsen, M., Jolles, E., Nielson, C. M., Baggio, M. L., Silva, R., Quiterio, M. (2008). The Human Papillomavirus Infection in Men Study: Human Papillomavirus Prevalence and Type Distribution among Men Residing in Brazil, Mexico, and the United States. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 17: 2036-2043 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ng'ayo, M O, Bukusi, E, Rowhani-Rahbar, A, Koutsky, L A, Feng, Q, Kwena, Z A, Holmes, K K (2008). Epidemiology of human papillomavirus infection among fishermen along Lake Victoria Shore in the Kisumu District, Kenya. Sex. Transm. Infect. 84: 62-66 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Malone, P., Steinbrecher, H. (2007). Medical aspects of male circumcision. BMJ 335: 1206-1290 [Full Text]  
• Nielson, C. M., Flores, R., Harris, R. B., Abrahamsen, M., Papenfuss, M. R., Dunne, E. F., Markowitz, L. E., Giuliano, A. R. (2007). Human Papillomavirus Prevalence and Type Distribution in Male Anogenital Sites and Semen. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 16: 1107-1114 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dickerman, J. D. (2007). Circumcision in the Time of HIV: When Is There Enough Evidence to Revise the American Academy of Pediatrics' Policy on Circumcision?. Pediatrics 119: 1006-1007 [Full Text]  
• Pichichero, M. E. (2006). Prevention of Cervical Cancer Through Vaccination of Adolescents. CLIN PEDIATR 45: 393-398  
• Weaver, B. A. (2006). Epidemiology and Natural History of Genital Human Papillomavirus Infection. JAOA: Journal of the American Osteopathic Association 106: S2-S8 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Aguilar, L V, Lazcano-Ponce, E, Vaccarella, S, Cruz, A, Hernandez, P, Smith, J S, Munoz, N, Kornegay, J R, Hernandez-Avila, M, Franceschi, S (2006). Human papillomavirus in men: comparison of different genital sites. Sex. Transm. Infect. 82: 31-33 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lajous, M., Mueller, N., Cruz-Valdez, A., Aguilar, L. V., Franceschi, S., Hernandez-Avila, M., Lazcano-Ponce, E. (2005). Determinants of Prevalence, Acquisition, and Persistence of Human Papillomavirus in Healthy Mexican Military Men. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 14: 1710-1716 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Kjaer, S. K., Munk, C., Falck Winther, J., Jorgensen, H. O., Meijer, C. J.L.M., van den Brule, A. J.C. (2005). Acquisition and Persistence of Human Papillomavirus Infection in Younger Men: A Prospective Follow-up Study among Danish Soldiers. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 14: 1528-1533 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Rousseau, M.-C., Abrahamowicz, M., Villa, L. L., Costa, M. C., Rohan, T. E., Franco, E. L. (2003). Predictors of Cervical Coinfection with Multiple Human Papillomavirus Types. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 12: 1029-1037 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lytwyn, A., Kaczorowski, J., Lorincz, A., Sellors, J. W. (2003). Transmission of HPV. CMAJ 168: 1391-1391 [Full Text]