Prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus types among women aged 30–49 years in the Chuy region, Kyrgyzstan

INTRODUCTION

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a leading cause of cervical cancer globally. High-risk (HR) HPV types HPV16 and 18 are responsible for 70% of cases. However, limited data exist for Kyrgyzstan, where cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women. This study aimed to establish a baseline HR-HPV prevalence, genotype distribution as well as risk factors for HR-HPV persistence among women aged 30–49 in the Chuy region, before the national HPV vaccination program was fully implemented.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and May 2024 in two facilities in rural Sokuluk District and one in Bishkek City. Cervical specimens from 1213 women were tested using the Xpert HPV assay, which detects oncogenic HPV types 16, 18/45 and other combined types (31, 33, 35, 52 and 58 are combined as P3, 51 and 59 as P4 and 39, 56, 66 and 68 as P5). Visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) was performed, and demographic, social, and behavioral data were collected through structured questionnaires. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore HPV prevalence and associated risk factors.

RESULTS

The overall HR-HPV prevalence was 9.0% (109/1213, 95% CI 7.5–10.7%). HR-HPV prevalence was higher in Sokuluk (56/570, 9.8%) compared to Bishkek (33/424, 7.8%). HPV16 was the most prevalent genotype (2.5%), followed by pooled types P3 (2.3%) and P5 (2.1%). Among women with detected HPV, 13.6% had a positive VIA result. Alcohol consumption was significantly associated with HR-HPV detection (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.81, 1.14–2.82, p = 0.010), while previous cervical pathology was a protective factor (aOR 0.63, 0.41–0.95, p = 0.032).

CONCLUSIONS

This study represents the first comprehensive data on the prevalence and distribution of HR-HPV in Kyrgyzstan. The findings emphasize the importance of tailored public health interventions, including expanded HPV vaccination, and scaling-up HPV-testing based cervical cancer screening programs. Further research is needed to evaluate the impact of these interventions on reducing the burden of HPV-associated cervical cancer in Kyrgyzstan.