A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Genotype-specific concordance of oral and genital human papillomavirus infections among marital couples is low
Authors: Kero Katja, Rautava Jaana, Louvanto Karoliina, Syrjänen Kari, Grenman Seija, Syrjänen Stina
Publication year: 2016
Journal: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Volume: 35
Issue: 4
First page : 697
Last page: 704
Number of pages: 8
ISSN: 0934-9723
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-016-2589-9
Data on genotype-specific concordance of oral-oral and genital-oral HPV infections among marital couples are key to understand HPV transmission between spouses. Genotype-specific concordance of HPV infections (oral/genital) and their co-variates among 131 marital couples were determined during 6-year follow-up (FU). Seven oral scrapings were taken from both spouses, accompanied by six genital samplings from the women and one (at baseline) from the male partners. HPV-genotyping was performed by nested PCR and a Luminex®-based Multimetrix Assay. Demographic data were collected with questionnaires at baseline and study conclusion. Prevalence of oral HPV varied from 10.3 to 27.0 % and 15.8 to 31.3 % in women and men, respectively. At baseline, 37.6 % of the male genital samples were HPV-positive while in female genital samples, HPV prevalence varied from 13.3 to 59.4 %. Only 15 couples had HPV genotype-specific concordance (oral-oral n = 7; male oral-female genital n = 9; female oral-male genital n = 2). In the nested case–control setting, higher number of deliveries (OR 0.145, 95%CI 0.030–0.706, p = 0.017) and higher number of intercourse (OR 0.488, 95%CI 0.243–0.978, p = 0.043) decreased the likelihood of concordant HPV infections while practicing oral sex increased the risk (OR 0.299, 95%CI 0.120–0.748, p = 0.010). In multivariate analysis, the likelihood of concordance was decreased by higher number of pregnancies of the female partner (p = 0.020) and by higher frequency of intercourse reported by the male spouse (p = 0.027). To conclude, asymptomatic HPV infections were common in both spouses while genotype-specific concordance was low. This supports the view that HPV profile of the spouses has been established before the current marital relationship.