Background Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the major etiological factor for cervical cancer. Data on the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV infection in Guangdong Province in southern China are limited. Our study aimed to analyze genotype-specific, age-specific prevalence and year-on-year trend of HPV detection among women in Guangdong 2008–2017.

Methods Exfoliated cervical cells were harvested from women attending gynecological department or medical examination center at Guangdong Women and Children Hospital. Twenty-one HPV subtypes were tested. Chi-squared test and the linear-by-linear association test were applied.

Results A total of 199,963 women attending gynecological department and 11,999 women attending medical examination center were included. HPV was detected in 20.16% of gynecological outpatients, with 17.67% positive for high risk (HR) HPV and 4.43% positive for low risk (LR) HPV. HPV was detected in 17.25% of women receiving physical examinations, with the prevalence of HR HPV and LR HPV being 14.88% and 4.05%, respectively. HPV prevalence significantly differed among these two populations (P<0.001). The five most prevalent genotypes were HPV 52, 16, 58, 81 and 53 among gynecological outpatients and 52, 81, 58, 53 and 16 among women receiving physical examinations. The distribution of any HPV, HR HPV, LR HPV and 9-valent HPV infections showed a bimodal pattern across age groups among both populations. A quasi-V-shaped prevalence curve was observed over the 10-year period among gynecological outpatients for any HPV, HR HPV subtype, LR HPV subtype and 9-valent HPV, while a quasi-reversed V-shaped curve was observed among women receiving physical examinations for any HPV subtypes, HR HPV subtypes, 9-valent HPV and 4-valent HPV.

Conclusion Our study delineated the distribution and trend of type-specific HPV among both gynecological outpatients and women receiving physical examinations in Guangdong, which may provide valuable data to inform cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination programs for women in this province.

Disclosure No significant relationships.