HPV knowledge and impact of genital warts on self esteem and sexual life in Colombian patients

Both information on variables associated to the influence on patients' self-esteem and sex lives as well as information on HPV awareness in patients with genital warts are few.

Methods: 

At a prominent private out-patient clinic in  Genital warts treatment Bogotá, Colombia, we conducted a cross-sectional research on adult patients having a clinical diagnosis of genital warts (GW). 

Patients had their bodies biopsied for a pathological diagnosis, had their DNA tested for HPV, and answered questions on their awareness of HPV as well as the effects of GW on their sexuality and self-esteem. Using a chi2 test, differences in proportions were evaluated.

Results: 

Pathologic proof of GW was found in 106 males and 155 women. Before consultation, 51% of the participants had heard about HPV, primarily through the media (82%). Just two thirds of the participants recognised the HPV vaccination as a preventative intervention against HPV infection, and less than half of the participants were aware that HPV might be spread through non-penetrant sexual contact. 

Women were more affected than males were in terms of self-esteem (90.3% vs. 60.4%, [p 0.01]). Higher education and anatomical location were connected to a stronger influence on sexual life in women than in men. External GW had a greater impact on sexual life in women (83% vs. 66%; [p = 0.05]) than in men (83% vs. 66%).

Conclusions: 

Even among patients with genital warts, we discovered little awareness of HPV and limited understanding of the vaccination as a preventative strategy for related illnesses, underscoring the need for communication and education on HPV. 

More health knowledge among Latin American women may be the reason for the greater influence on women's self-esteem.

Background: 

One of the most common sexually transmitted illnesses in the world, genital warts (GW) are brought on by infection with certain strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) [1, 2]. 

The disease mostly affects teens and young adults because they engage in greater sexual activity and are thus more likely to get primary HPV infection once they begin having sex [1].

The incidence of genital warts is unknown: 

however it is believed to be around 1% among people in several high-income nations that engage in sexual activity. Moreover, data point to a potential 10% lifetime risk for GW [1, 3, 4]. Moreover, a number of epidemiological studies indicate that genital wart prevalence appears to be rising [4].

In populations where HPV vaccination with the quadrivalent vaccine has been implemented, the recent development of prophylactic HPV vaccines that offer protection from HPV types 6 and 11 (types implicated in more than 90% of genital warts) [5] is potentially beneficial for the reduction in the burden of GW.

With the introduction of HPV vaccination, the Australian population has shown this advantage [6]. Based on the frequency of the condition, associated expenditures, and an improved grasp of the information of HPV and its health effects, it is expected that the value of HPV vaccination with respect to GW in other populations will be assessed in the coming years.

Study design and participants: 

The Ethics Review Board of Profamilia an in Bogotá, Colombia gave its approval to a larger research titled "Prevalence of HPV genotypes in genital warts in a Colombian population," which included the present report.

We recruited male and female patients, 18 to 45 years old, who were residing in Bogotá at the start of the research and who visited the clinic with lesions that were thought to be GW between December 2009 and August 2010. 

The gynaecologist or urologist invited patients with a clinical diagnosis of GW to participate in the study during the initial consultation and obtained their consent; all patients underwent a biopsy to determine the associated HPV genotypes; following this, a questionnaire was administered by a trained interviewer. The study excluded patients who were unwilling to participate, had received the HPV vaccination, or had a known diagnosis of an immune suppressive condition. 

The survey asked about sociodemographic factors, knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccination, and sources. of HPV-related information, initiation of sex life and previous medical history of STDs. Clinical features of the lesions diagnosed were also registered.