Spousal migration and human papillomavirus infection among women in rural western Nepal

BACKGROUND: In April 2014 we investigated the association of migration of a womans husband with her high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection status and her abnormal cervical cytology status in the Achham district of rural Far-Western Nepal. METHODS: Women were surveyed and screened for HR-HPV during a health camp conducted by the Nepal Fertility Care Center. Univariate and multivariable statistical tests were performed to determine the association of a husbands migration status with HR-HPV infection and cervical cytology status. RESULTS: In 265 women the prevalence of HR-HPV was 7.5% (20/265) while the prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology defined using the Bethesda system as atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance or worse was 7.6% (19/251). Half of the study participants (50.8% 130/256) had husbands who had reported migrating for work at least once. Women aged 34 years (OR 0.22 95% CI 0.07 to 0.71). HR-HPV infection and abnormal cervical cytology status were not directly associated with a husbands migration. CONCLUSION: Older women were found to have a higher prevalence of HPV than younger women. It is possible that a husbands migration for work could be delaying HR-HPV infections in married women until an older age. (c) The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.