Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Feb 6;17(1):126.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-017-2202-6.

Prevalence and incidence of external genital warts in a sample of Italian general female population

Barbara Suligoi  1 , Giorgio Vittori  2 , Maria Cristina Salfa  3 , Laura Timelli  4 , Dario Corsini  4 , Giovanni Fattorini  5 , Luciano Mariani  6 ; Genital Warts 2 (GW2) Working Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Prevalence and incidence of external genital warts in a sample of Italian general female population

Barbara Suligoi et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: The Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted virus worldwide. The objective of this study was to estimate: 1) the prevalence and the incidence of external genital warts (eGW) in a sample of women attending community outpatient clinics and 2) the total number of eGW cases in the Italian female population aged 15-64 years.

Methods: A prospective study was performed for a 12-month period between 2009 and 2010, among a sample of women attending community gynecological outpatient clinics located throughout Italy. Demographic data, for every woman aged 15-64 years, were collected. For women diagnosed with eGW, behavioral and clinical data were recorded. Prevalence of eGW was calculated as the proportion between the number of women with eGW and that of women visiting any of the participating gynecologists; incidence of eGW was calculated as the proportion between the number of women with a new diagnosis of eGW and that of women visiting any of the participating gynecologists. Standardized prevalence by age was used to estimate the number of eGW cases occurring in the Italian female population aged 15-64 years.

Results: In 2009-2010, 44 community gynecologists were included in the network. In one-year period, 16,410 women visited any of the participating gynecologists; 63 women were diagnosed with eGW, corresponding to a prevalence of 3.8 cases per 1,000 women per year (95%CI: 2.9-4.9). The incidence of eGW was 3.0 cases per 1,000 women per year (95%CI: 2.2-3.9). Women aged 15-24 years showed both the highest prevalence and incidence. Prevalence and incidence significantly decreased by increasing age group (p <0.001), and were higher in Southern Italy compared to Central-Northern Italy. The estimated number of women with eGW among women aged 15-64 years in Italy, in 2010, was approximately 69,000.

Conclusions: These data show a high prevalence and incidence of eGW among young women in Italy, stress the effectiveness of community clinical networks in investigating STI epidemiology among women from the general population, confirm the relevance of HPV vaccination programs among adolescents, and underscore the need of promoting safe sex, implementing early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of genital warts.

Keywords: Community gynecologists; External genital warts; Incidence; Italy; Prevalence; Women.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Chinchai T, Chansaenroj J, Swangvaree S, et al. Prevalence of human papillomavirus genotypes in cervical cancer. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2012;22(6):1063–1068. doi: 10.1097/IGC.0b013e318259d904. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tota JE, Chevarie-Davis M, Richardson LA, et al. Epidemiology and burden of HPV infection and related diseases: implications for prevention strategies. Prev Med. 2011;53(Suppl 1):S12–S21. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.08.017. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Meyer T, Arndt R, Christophers E, et al. Association of rare human papillomavirus types with genital premalignant and malignant lesions. J Infect Dis. 1998;178:252–255. doi: 10.1086/517447. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brown DR, Schroeder JM, Bryan JM, et al. Detection of multiple human papillomavirus types in condylomata acuminata lesions from otherwise healthy and immunosuppressed patients. J Clin Microbiol. 1999;37:316–322. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Stanley MA. Genital human papillomavirus infections: current and prospective therapies. J Gen Virol. 2012;93(Pt 4):681–691. doi: 10.1099/vir.0.039677-0. - DOI - PubMed