Elsevier

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume 141, Issue 5, November 2002, Pages 718-723
The Journal of Pediatrics

Clinical and Laboratory Observations
The interval between menarche and age of first sexual intercourse as a risk factor for subsequent HPV infection in adolescent and young adult women,☆☆

https://doi.org/10.1067/mpd.2002.128893Get rights and content

Abstract

We sought to determine whether the interval between menarche and age of first sexual intercourse is associated with subsequent human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and if so, whether the association is independent of the age of first sexual intercourse. Female university students completed a survey and were screened for cervicovaginal HPV infection. HPV-positive subjects were matched to HPV-negative subjects (n = 504). Mean subject age was 20.4 ± 2.1 years, age of first sexual intercourse 16.7 ± 1.8 years, and interval 4.4 ± 2.0 years. The interval was associated with HPV infection, but the association became nonsignificant in univariate stratified analyses and multivariate models estimating the association between the interval and HPV infection. A short interval is associated with HPV infection, but the association is not independent of age of first sexual intercourse. Age of first sexual intercourse should be considered an important and identifiable risk factor for subsequent HPV infection in research and clinical settings. (J Pediatr 2002;141:718-23)

Section snippets

Study ppulation

The study population consisted of female students enrolled at Rutgers University, who were invited to participate in a longitudinal study examining the natural history of cervicovaginal HPV infection. Details of recruitment have been described previously.9 Informed consent was obtained from all subjects, and institutional review board approval was obtained in compliance with human experimentation guidelines of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Eligibility criteria included first

Results

Characteristics of the entire study population have been described previously.1, 9 Self-reported race/ethnicity was as follows: 59% white, 12% black, 13% Hispanic, 9% Asian, and 7% other. Mean subject age was 20.4 ± 2.1 years, mean age of menarche 12.3 ± 1.2 years, mean age of first sexual intercourse 16.7 ± 1.8 years, and the mean interval between menarche and age of first sexual intercourse 4.4 ± 2.0 years. Mean lifetime number of sexual partners was 4.2 ± 3.9 and mean number of sexual

Discusssion

Several previous studies have explored whether the interval between menarche and age of first sexual intercourse predicts HPV infection, other STI, and CIN.10, 11, 12 Shew et al11 reported that the interval between menarche and age of first sexual intercourse was significantly shorter for HPV-infected versus noninfected adolescents, suggesting that the interval is an important risk factor for HPV infection in that it reflects cervical immaturity. Moscicki et al10 found that those subjects with

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    Data collection was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. DNA oligonucleotides were synthesized in the Oligo Synthesis facility of the Albert Einstein Cancer Center. Dr Ho is the recipient of a Junior Faculty Research Award, and Dr Burk is the recipient of a Faculty Research Award, both from the American Cancer Society. Dr Kahn was supported by Project No. 5 T71 MC 00001-24 from the Maternal-Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Resources.

    ☆☆

    Reprint requests: Jessica A. Kahn, MD, MPH, Division of Adolescent Medicine, Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229.

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