Precancerous Cervical Lesions Among HIV-Infected Women Attending HIV Care and Treatment Clinics in Southwest Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

backgroundDespite being one of the few cancers that can be prevented with simple testing, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. HIV-positive women showed a median three-fold higher incidence of cervical lesions.

aimThis study aims to assess the prevalence and factors associated with precancerous cervical lesions among HIV-infected women attending care and treatment clinic in selected hospitals of Southwestern Ethiopia.

methodsInstitution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February 1 to July 30, 2018. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to select 454 HIV-infected women. Pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire and medical record review were used for data collection. Visual inspection with Acetic acid was done for participants to detect precancerous cervical lesions. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20. Binary and multiple logistic regression analyses were done. The presence and strength of association were determined using AOR with its 95% CI. Variables with a P value of less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant.

resultsThe prevalence of precancerous cervical lesion was 18.7% [95% CI; (15.1-22.4%)]. Currently, not being on highly active antiretroviral treatment [AOR= 2.31, 95% CI: 1.23-4.39], age (20-29 years) [AOR= 0.185, 95% CI: 0.036,0.939], has no history of sexually transmitted infection [AOR=0.026, 95% CI: 0.006-0.116], has no history of genital wart [AOR= 0.261, 95% CI: 0.073-0.934] and having one lifetime sexual partner [AOR=0.133, 95% CI: 0.024-0.726] were found to be significantly associated with precancerous cervical lesion.

conclusionThe prevalence of Precancerous Cervical lesion was found to be high in this study. Expansion of screening services and undertaking preventive measures against sexually transmitted infection need to be emphasized.