Potential Effects of Age-Based Changes in Screening Guidelines on the Identification of Women at Risk for Developing Cervical Cancer

that screening starting at the age of 25 years with Pap and/or human papillomavirus (HPV) testing is sufficient to prevent cervical cancer. The effect of having HPV infections without Pap-based care until age 25 on the prevalence of higher grades of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (>= CIN 2) and their determinants are largely unknown. The objectives of the study were to document the potential effects of age-based changes in screening guidelines on the identification of >= CIN 2 and their determinants. The study included 1,584 women diagnosed with abnormal Pap and tested for HPVs and histologic diagnoses of cervical lesions. The association between demographic/lifestyle factors and HPV status and risk of being diagnosed with >= CIN 2 among younger (21-<25 years) or older (>= 25 year) women was tested using unconditional multiple logistic regression models. We observed that younger women who are not screened have a similar or higher risk of developing specific high-risk HPV genotype-associated >= CIN 2 lesions compared with older women who are screened according to the current births, smoking, contraceptive use, and a higher number of sexual partners were significantly at higher risk of being women at risk for developing >= CIN 2 will address the concern of overtreatment while providing the recommended care to those who require such care to prevent the development of cervical cancer.