Molecular epidemiology of HPV infection using a clinical array methodology in 2952 women in Greece.

The molecular epidemiology of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in a sample of Greek women (n = 2952, mean age 42.2 ± 13.3 years) was examined. HPV prevalence was 50.7% (95% confidence interval, 48.8-52.6). The most frequent HPV types were HPV 53, 51 and 66 (10.2%, 9.4% and 9.3%, respectively). HPV positivity was associated with age, age of sexual debut, number of sexual partners and duration of sexual relationship, while marriage or multiparity protected against infection (all p <0.001). Follow-up of this cohort will assist in predicting the effect of vaccination with the new HPV vaccines on future screening with HPV-based tests for cervical cancer.