The incidence of high-risk HPV infections in Slovakia at the start of the national organized screening for cervical cancer

Abstract Objective Until now, Slovakia has lacked complex data regarding the prevalence of specific high-risk HPV types in female population. Accordingly, our study focused on the population of Northern Slovakia, providing valuable insights into the correlation between cytological diagnoses, age, an...

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Main Authors: Erik Kudela, Katarina Berakova, Tomas Rokos, Erik Kozubik, Terezia Pribulova, Kamil Biringer, Marian Grendar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-06-01
Series:Infectious Agents and Cancer
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13027-025-00675-x
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author Erik Kudela
Katarina Berakova
Tomas Rokos
Erik Kozubik
Terezia Pribulova
Kamil Biringer
Marian Grendar
author_facet Erik Kudela
Katarina Berakova
Tomas Rokos
Erik Kozubik
Terezia Pribulova
Kamil Biringer
Marian Grendar
author_sort Erik Kudela
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objective Until now, Slovakia has lacked complex data regarding the prevalence of specific high-risk HPV types in female population. Accordingly, our study focused on the population of Northern Slovakia, providing valuable insights into the correlation between cytological diagnoses, age, and HPV prevalence. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of results from cytological cervical cancer screening and HPV DNA testing in 2023 involving 74,850 women in the Zilina region of northern Slovakia. Results The most common HPV infection based on the results of the HPV DNA testing was the group positivity for other high-risk HPVs at 17.73%, followed by HPV16 (6.03%) and HPV18 (1.57%) positivity. The overall HPV DNA positivity, regardless of age, was 21.59%. We observed a significant decrease in high-risk HPV prevalence with increasing age (p < 0.001), with the highest values in the age group of 18–25 years (37.92%). A second peak of high-risk HPV infection was observed in the age group of 51–55 years. HPV coinfection, defined as a combination of positive HPV DNA test results, was observed in 3.49% of cases (187/5,354). Conclusion We found relatively high prevalence of high-risk HPV types in Slovak population. Our findings may serve as a valuable baseline for future evaluations of the impact of both organized screening and vaccination in the country.
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spelling doaj-art-853e6cdf811a48acbcb27d2c2361f6f02025-08-20T03:47:24ZengBMCInfectious Agents and Cancer1750-93782025-06-0120111010.1186/s13027-025-00675-xThe incidence of high-risk HPV infections in Slovakia at the start of the national organized screening for cervical cancerErik Kudela0Katarina Berakova1Tomas Rokos2Erik Kozubik3Terezia Pribulova4Kamil Biringer5Marian Grendar6Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in BratislavaMartinské Bioptické Centrum s.r.o.Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in BratislavaClinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in BratislavaClinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in BratislavaClinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in BratislavaBiomedical Centre, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in BratislavaAbstract Objective Until now, Slovakia has lacked complex data regarding the prevalence of specific high-risk HPV types in female population. Accordingly, our study focused on the population of Northern Slovakia, providing valuable insights into the correlation between cytological diagnoses, age, and HPV prevalence. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of results from cytological cervical cancer screening and HPV DNA testing in 2023 involving 74,850 women in the Zilina region of northern Slovakia. Results The most common HPV infection based on the results of the HPV DNA testing was the group positivity for other high-risk HPVs at 17.73%, followed by HPV16 (6.03%) and HPV18 (1.57%) positivity. The overall HPV DNA positivity, regardless of age, was 21.59%. We observed a significant decrease in high-risk HPV prevalence with increasing age (p < 0.001), with the highest values in the age group of 18–25 years (37.92%). A second peak of high-risk HPV infection was observed in the age group of 51–55 years. HPV coinfection, defined as a combination of positive HPV DNA test results, was observed in 3.49% of cases (187/5,354). Conclusion We found relatively high prevalence of high-risk HPV types in Slovak population. Our findings may serve as a valuable baseline for future evaluations of the impact of both organized screening and vaccination in the country.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13027-025-00675-xHPVScreeningCytologyVaccinationCervical cancer
spellingShingle Erik Kudela
Katarina Berakova
Tomas Rokos
Erik Kozubik
Terezia Pribulova
Kamil Biringer
Marian Grendar
The incidence of high-risk HPV infections in Slovakia at the start of the national organized screening for cervical cancer
Infectious Agents and Cancer
HPV
Screening
Cytology
Vaccination
Cervical cancer
title The incidence of high-risk HPV infections in Slovakia at the start of the national organized screening for cervical cancer
title_full The incidence of high-risk HPV infections in Slovakia at the start of the national organized screening for cervical cancer
title_fullStr The incidence of high-risk HPV infections in Slovakia at the start of the national organized screening for cervical cancer
title_full_unstemmed The incidence of high-risk HPV infections in Slovakia at the start of the national organized screening for cervical cancer
title_short The incidence of high-risk HPV infections in Slovakia at the start of the national organized screening for cervical cancer
title_sort incidence of high risk hpv infections in slovakia at the start of the national organized screening for cervical cancer
topic HPV
Screening
Cytology
Vaccination
Cervical cancer
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13027-025-00675-x
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