Seven years prevalence and distribution of high and low risk HPV genotypes in women living in the metropolitan area of Naples.

Background: The objective of this work was to provide an update information on HPV age/genotype distribution by retrospectively analyzing a cohort of women living in the metropolitan area of Naples.
Methods: From January 2011 to December 2017, cervical scrape specimens from 1265 women, with abnormal cytological indication, were tested for HPV DNA. The presence and the viral genotypes were assessed by the Linear Array HPV genotyping test for the detection of 37 anogenital HPV-DNA genotypes.
Results: The overall prevalence of HPV infections was of 44.5% (95% CI 41.77-47.24). Among HR-HPV types, HPV-16 was the most common identified genotype, followed by HPV-31, -66, -59 and -51. As concern LR-HPV, HPV-53 resulted the most prevalent. Stratifying the study population by age, the total HPV infections showed a peak in younger women aged <23 years (58.5%), with a significative decrease by age (23-29 years, 54%; ≥ 30 years, 38.2%) (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: We provided an HPV epidemiological analysis, highlighting the need to implement vaccination programmes and preventative screening strategies.
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