Abstract

Objective: To establish associations between risk factors and the presence of intraepithelial lesions and human papillomavirus infection. Methods: Cross-sectional study with 1639 from the Santos Marquina municipality, Mérida, Venezuela. Cervical cytology and colposcopy, human papillomavirus detection and genotyping were analyzed using PCR and surveys to measure risk factors. Results: 477 women (31.8%) had human papillomavirus infection and 82 women (5.6%) had abnormalities in cervical cytology. Among the cases where human papillomavirus genotyping was performed, 135 (42%) correspond to low-risk types, while 177 (55%) correspond to high-risk types. A higher proportion of abnormal cytologies was found in cases with high-risk human papillomavirus with 21 cases (13.4%) compared to low-risk human papillomavirus with 9 cases (6.4%). The number of lifetime sexual partners greater than 1 (OR=2,303; p=0.001) and the history of pregnancy (OR=3,283; p=0.036) were significant independently associated with the presence of abnormal cytology. While the number of lifetime sexual partners greater than 1 (OR=1.304; p=0.026), the residence in rural area (OR=1.957; p <0.001) and the age under 35 years (OR=1,397; p=0.003) were significant independently associated with the presence of human papillomavirus infection. Conclusion: The type of human papillomavirus and other risk factors play an important role in the appearance of cervical intraepithelial lesions.