Impact of human immunodeficiency virus on the natural history of human papillomavirus genital infection in South African men and women

Background. This study investigated genital human papillomavirus (HPV) incidence and clearance in 278 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive (HIV-positive) women, 208 HIV-negative women, 161 HIV-positive men, and 325 HIV-negative men, followed at 6-month intervals for up to 24 months. Methods. HPV types were determined by the Roche Reverse Linear Array HPV genotyping assay. Results. The rate of new HPV detection at the cervix and penis were 33.83 events/1000 person-months (95 confidence interval [CI], 26.39-43.46) and 55.68 events/1000 person-months (95 CI, 43.59-69.19), respectively. HIV infection was associated with increased risk of new HPV detection in women (relative risk [RR], 2.98; 95 CI, 2.07-4.29) and men (RR, 2.00; 95 CI, 1.49-2.69). The risk of new HPV detection increased in women (RR, 5.25; 95 CI, 3.52-7.81) and men (RR, 8.71; 95 CI, 6.19-12.24) when the sexual partner was infected with the same HPV type. The rate of clearing any HPV infection was 95.1 events/1000 person-months (95 CI, 83.3-108.1) in men and 66.9 events/1000 person-months (95 CI, 57.0-78.5) in women. HIV infection reduced the rate of HPV clearance in women (RR, 0.46; 95 CI,. 34-.62) and men (RR, 0.71; 95 CI,. 55-.93). Conclusions. HIV infection increases the risk of new HPV detection and decreases the rate of HPV clearance in both women and men. © 2012 The Author.