Association of HPV and sexually transmitted infections among patients with genital warts and asymptomatic individuals: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

STIs can impact HPV infection and persistence, potentially predisposing HPV-related cervical cancer development. This study examines HPV genotype prevalence and co-occurrence with other STIs to inform targeted prevention and treatment strategies for reducing cervical cancer incidence. 129 female patients aged 18–57 were enrolled based on the presence of anogenital warts, individuals with a history of risky sexual behaviors, having a partner with HPV infection, or voluntarily seeking HPV screening. Patients with a history of any STIs, prior HPV vaccination, systemic illnesses, or undergoing cancer treatment were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups: Genital warts group (31.8%) and asymptomatic group (68.2%). Among patients with genital warts, HPV types 6, 11, and 61 were prevalent, whereas in asymptomatic patients, HPV types 53, 31, and 16 were more common. The STI positivity rate among HPV-positive patients was 63.9%, significantly higher than HPV-negative cases. In the genital warts group at admission, Ureaplasma Parvum (UP) was the most common STI (40.0%), followed by Uraeplasma Urealyticum (UU) (28.5%), Mycoplasma Hominis (MH) (17.2%), and Chlamidia Trachomatis (CT) (11.4%). In the asymptomatic group, UP was also the most common STI (41.2%), followed by UU (17.6%), MH (15.8%), CT (9.7%), TV (6.2%), MG (5.3%), HSV-2 (2.6%), TP (0.8%), and NG (0.8%). The prevalence of UP was significantly higher (53.7%) in the HPV-positive group, suggesting a 6.96-fold greater risk of UP infection in individuals with HPV. This study demonstrates a high co-infection rate between HPV and UP, emphasizing the importance of genital infection screening for high-risk HPV-positive women. Further longitudinal research is needed to investigate the role of STIs as contributing factors in HPV-related cervical cancer development.