The incidence of high-risk HPV infections in Slovakia at the start of the national organized screening for cervical cancer

Objective Until now, Slovakia has lacked complex data regarding the prevalence of specific high-risk HPV types in female population. Accordingly, our study focused on the population of Northern Slovakia, providing valuable insights into the correlation between cytological diagnoses, age, and HPV prevalence. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of results from cytological cervical cancer screening and HPV DNA testing in 2023 involving 74,850 women in the Zilina region of northern Slovakia. Results The most common HPV infection based on the results of the HPV DNA testing was the group positivity for other high-risk HPVs at 17.73%, followed by HPV16 (6.03%) and HPV18 (1.57%) positivity.The overall HPV DNA positivity, regardless of age, was 21.59%. We observed a significant decrease in high-risk HPV prevalence with increasing age (p < 0.001), with the highest values in the age group of 18-25 years (37.92%). A second peak of high-risk HPV infection was observed in the age group of 51-55 years. HPV coinfection, defined as a combination of positive HPV DNA test results, was observed in 3.49% of cases (187/5,354). Conclusion We found relatively high prevalence of high-risk HPV types in Slovak population. Our findings may serve as a valuable baseline for future evaluations of the impact of both organized screening and vaccination in the country.