Overall rates of HPV and KM-BVs in women included in the study and according to cytological findings
| HPV and KM-BVs* | Cytological findings | Cytological findings | ||||||
| Overall (n=213) | NILM (n=83) | LSIL (n=37) | RR (95% CI) | P value† | HSIL plus SCC (n=93) | RR (95% CI) | P value† | |
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | |||||
| HPV-DNA | 149 (69.9) | 19 (22.9) | 37 (100) | 2.04 (1.3 to 2.9) | <0.0001 | 93 (100) | 4.3 (2.4 to 7.7) | <0.0001 |
| High-risk HPV | 126 (59.1) | 9 (10.8) | 25 (67.5) | 2.61 (1.4 to 4.6) | <0.0001 | 92 (98.9) | 9.1 (4.3 to 19.2) | <0.0001 |
| HPV-16 | 54 (25.3) | 2 (2.4) | 8 (21.6) | 3.45 (0.9 to 12) | 0.0032 | 44 (47.3) | 19.6 (4.6 to 86.5) | <0.0001 |
| Low-risk HPV | 54 (25.3) | 14 (16.9) | 20 (54) | 1.68 (1.1 to 2.5) | 0.0045 | 20 (21.5) | 1.3 (0.6 to 2.7) | 0.6 |
| HPV-multiple infections | 45 (21.2) | 6 (7.2) | 10 (27) | 1.84 (0.9 to 3.5) | 0.022 | 29 (31.2) | 4.3 (1.7 to 10.9) | 0.0012 |
| KM-BV positive | 155 (72.7) | 63 (75.9) | 31 (83.8) | 1.03 (0.8 to 1.2) | 0.76 | 61 (65.6) | 0.8 (0.5 to 1.3) | 0.5 |
| 1 KM-BV agent | 74 (34.7) | 29 (34.9) | 19 (51.3) | 1.1 (0.8 to 1.5) | 0.28 | 32 (34.4) | 0.98 (0.5 to 1.7) | 1 |
| 2 or more simultaneous KM-BVs | 81 (38) | 34 (41) | 18 (48.6) | 1 (0.8 to 1.3) | 0.72 | 29 (31.2) | 0.7 (0.4 to 1.3) | 0.4 |
| M. curtissi | 20 (9.4) | 8 (9.6) | 2 (5.4) | 0.8 (0.6 to 1.2) | 0.72 | 10 (10.7) | 1.1 (0.4 to 2.9) | 1 |
| U. urealyticum | 27 (12.7) | 11 (13.2) | 7 (18.9) | 1.1 (0.7 to 1.6) | 0.6 | 9 (9.7) | 0.7 (0.3 to 1.8) | 0.6 |
| M. hominis | 9 (4.2) | 3 (3.6) | 2 (5.4) | 1.1 (0.5 to 2.3) | 0.6 | 4 (4.3) | 1.2 (0.2 to 5.5) | 1 |
| G. vaginalis | 72 (33.8) | 24 (28.9) | 16 (43.2) | 1.1 (0.8 to 1.5) | 0.3 | 32 (34.4) | 1.2 (0.6 to 2.2) | 0.6 |
| M egasphaera type I | 48 (22.5) | 22 (26.5) | 8 (21.6) | 0.9 (0.7 to 1.2) | 0.8 | 18 (19.3) | 0.7 (0.3 to 1.4) | 0.4 |
| B. fragilis | 4 (1.9) | 0 (0) | 4 (10.8) | – | 0.01 | 0 (0) | – | – |
| A. vaginae | 14 (6.6) | 4 (4.8) | 3 (8.1) | 1.2 (0.6 to 2.3) | 0.6 | 7 (7.5) | 1.5 (0.4 to 5.5) | 0.5 |
| BVAB1 | 33 (15.5) | 14 (16.9) | 12 (32.4) | 1.2 (0.8 to 1.8) | 0.1 | 7 (7.5) | 0.4 (0.2 to 1.2) | 0.1 |
| BVAB2 | 19 (8.9) | 6 (7.2) | 4 (10.8) | 1.1 (0.6 to 1.9) | 0.7 | 9 (9.7) | 1.3 (0.4 to 3.9) | 0.8 |
| BVAB3 | 27 (12.7) | 17 (20.4) | 6 (16.2) | 0.9 (0.7 to 1.2) | 0.8 | 4 (4.3) | 0.2 (0.07 to 0.6) | 0.004 |
| M. genitalium | 2 (0.9) | 1 (1.2) | 0 (0) | – | – | 1 (1.1) | 0.9 (0.05 to 14.5) | 1 |
| M. mulieris | 6 (2.8) | 2 (2.4) | 2 (5.4) | 1.3 (0.5 to 3.7) | 0.5 | 2 (2.2) | 0.9 (0.1 to 6.5) | 1 |
| S. sanguinegens | 9 (4.2) | 5 (6) | 1 (2.7) | 0.8 (0.5 to 1.2) | 0.6 | 3 (3.2) | 0.5 (0.1 to 2.3) | 0.5 |
*KM-BVs: Gardnerella vaginalis; Atopobium vaginae; Bacteroides fragilis; Clostridia-like bacteria vaginosis-associated bacteria (BVAB) 1, 2, and 3; Sneathia sanguinegens; Megasphaera type I; Mycoplasma hominis; Mycoplasma genitalium; Mobiluncus mulieris; Mobiluncus curtissi; and Ureaplasma urealyticum.
†p<0.05 was considered significant.
HPV-DNA, human papillomavirus DNA; HSIL, high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions; KM-BV, key markers of bacterial vaginosis; LSIL, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions; NILM, negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy; RR (95% CI), relative risk with 95% confidence interval; SCC, squamous cervical carcinoma.