Studies on the prevalence of human papillomavirus in pregnant women in Japan.

Aims: In order to evaluate the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the pregnant population in Japan. Methods: We examined cervical swabs of 1,183 pregnant women for HPV DNA using a PCR-RFLP method during October, 2000 and February, 2001. The overall prevalence of HPV in 1,183 pregnant women was analyzed and stratified by age. Results: The overall prevalence of HPV in pregnant women was 12.5% (148 of 1,183 cases). The prevalence in pregnant women younger than 25 years (22.6%, 28 of 124 cases) was significantly higher compared with that in pregnant women ≥25 years (11.3%, 120 of 1057 cases, P<0.0005). Conclusions: The data indicate a significantly higher prevalence of HPV infection in younger pregnant Japanese women.