Are Israeli women in a low risk group for developing squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix?

Abstract

Objective: Invasive cervical squamous cell carcinoma is not a common disease among Jewish women. In the present study an attempt was made to find what is the distribution of the known risk factors in this population.

Methods: Three hundred and ninety-one patients with various cervical cytological abnormalities comprised the study group. They were compared to 350 Israeli women with negative cytology. The risk factors were extracted from an anonymous questionnaire. The results were statistically analyzed and compared to the equivalent figures published in the literature pertaining to non-Jewish women.

Results: The prevalence of abnormal cytology among the Israeli women was almost the same as that of the non-Jewish group: 24/1000 and 26/1000, respectively. Significant statistical differences were found between the following risk factors: number of sexual partners, age at first intercourse, age at first pregnancy. Women in the study group were younger when they became sexually active and at first pregnancy, they had a larger number of sexual partners, fewer of them were married and fewer of them were observant of Jewish ritual practices. In addition, they had achieved higher academic levels than the women in the control group.

Conclusions: It was found that the distribution of the known risk factors among the study group was practically the same as those in the non-Jewish population. Moreover, it was found that there was an increase of 29.2% (from 17/1000 to 24/1000) in the prevalence of cervical premalignant lesions among the Israeli women. We believe that this population can no longer be considered as being at low risk for this disease.