1. Objectifs

Intentions :
In this article, the authors «[...] estimated human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission rates among persons with documented sexual exposure to an infected partner.» (p. 1723)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«From 2005 to 2010, the HITCH Study (HPVInfection and Transmission among Couples through Heterosexual activity) enrolled young women attending a university or junior college in Montreal, Canada, and their male partners. [...] As of December 2010, 308 couples were enrolled, attended a second visit [...].» (p. 1723-1724)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

According to the authors, «[r]ecently formed couples enrolled in the HITCH Study (HPV Infection and Transmission among Couples through Heterosexual activity) in Montreal, Canada, and provided genital specimens for DNA testing of 36 HPV genotypes. At enrollment, 179 couples were discordant for ≥1 HPV types; transmission was observed at follow-up in 73 partnerships. There was little difference between the male-to-female (3.5 per 100 person-months, 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.7-4.5) and female-to-male (4.0 per 100 person-months, 95% CI, 3.0-5.5) transmission rates. Rates did not vary with the lifetime number of partners reported by the initially uninfected partner, providing no evidence of reduced susceptibility for those with extensive sexual histories. Transmission was also relatively homogeneous across HPV genotypes and alpha species and oncogenic risk categories. The findings contribute to a small but growing evidence base regarding the natural history of HPV transmission.» (p. 1723) Note that this study also offers couples sexual habits and behaviour towards contraception.
Note also that this study is the second of the authors and the latter is pushed further. The first study has an abstract in Famili@:Burchell, Ann A. et al., «Influence of Partner’s Infection Status on Prevalent Human Papillomavirus Among Persons With a New Sex Partner»