1. Racial and ethnic differences in human papillomavirus positivity and risk factors among low-income women in Federally Qualified Health Centers in the United States.
- Author
-
Lin, Lavinia, Benard, Vicki B., Greek, April, Hawkins, Nikki A., Roland, Katherine B., and Saraiya, Mona
- Subjects
- *
PAPILLOMAVIRUS diseases , *ETHNIC differences , *PUBLIC health , *RACIAL differences , *CHI-squared test , *DISEASE risk factors , *STATISTICS on Hispanic Americans , *HEALTH services accessibility , *PAPILLOMAVIRUSES , *POPULATION , *POVERTY , *RESEARCH funding - Abstract
Reasons for racial/ethnic disparities in HPV infection are unclear. This study assessed racial/ethnic differences in and risk factors for HPV positivity among low-income women. Data were collected from 984 low-income women visiting Federally Qualified Health Centers across Illinois (2009-2011). Pearson chi square and Logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations with HPV positivity. Our results showed Mexican-born Hispanics had the lowest HPV positivity (16%), followed by non-Hispanic whites (29%), US-born Hispanics (35%), and non-Hispanic blacks (39%). Mexican-born Hispanics reported fewer risk behaviors for HPV positivity, including first sexual intercourse before age 16 years (9% versus 27%), multiple sexual partners in lifetime (48% versus 90%), and current cigarette smoking status (10% versus 35%) when compared to non-Hispanic whites (p<0.001). In multivariate-adjusted logistic regression, being non-Hispanic black, first sexual intercourse before age 16 years, increasing numbers of recent or lifetime sexual partners and current cigarette smoking status were associated with a higher likelihood of HPV positivity. Our findings highlight racial/ethnic differences in HPV positivity and risk factors in a population of women with similar socioeconomic characteristics. When measuring HPV risk factors within the Hispanic population, foreign-born status and other mediating factors, such as social norms and cultural characteristics, may be relevant to assess the intragroup heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2015
- Full Text
- View/download PDF