TY - JOUR
T1 - Awareness of human papillomavirus in a cohort of nearly 70,000 women from four Nordic countries
AU - Nøhr, Bugge
AU - Munk, Christian
AU - Tryggvadottir, Laufey
AU - Sparén, Par
AU - Tran, Trung N
AU - Nygård, Mari
AU - Skare, Gry B
AU - Dasbach, Erik
AU - Liaw, Kai L
AU - Kjaer, Susanne K
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - OBJECTIVE: To assess the fraction of women who have heard of human papillomavirus (HPV) in four Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) and to study the correlates of this awareness, just before the vaccines were released.DESIGN: Population-based cross-sectional study by means of a questionnaire. Setting. Denmark 2004-2005. Population. A total of 69,147 women participated (participation rate of 65%) in the study.METHODS: A random sample of women from the general female population (18-45 years) in Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden were invited to answer a self-administered questionnaire regarding HPV and lifestyle habits.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Having heard of HPV.RESULTS: Overall, a total of 32.6% had ever heard about HPV. Respectively, only 25.1% of Danish women, 33.0% Norwegian women, 32.5% Swedish women, and 41.0% Icelandic women had heard about HPV. The most important correlates associated with ever having heard of HPV were a history of genital warts (odds ratios, OR=2.57; 99% confidence intervals, CI: 2.38-2.76) and educational level (OR=2.06; 99% CI: 1.92-2.21). Other correlates associated with awareness of HPV were being single during pregnancy, never having been pregnant, former use of hormonal contraceptives and condom use.CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that at least two-thirds of Nordic women have never heard of HPV. These data are important for developing and evaluating strategies to inform and educate the population about HPV infection and disease.
AB - OBJECTIVE: To assess the fraction of women who have heard of human papillomavirus (HPV) in four Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) and to study the correlates of this awareness, just before the vaccines were released.DESIGN: Population-based cross-sectional study by means of a questionnaire. Setting. Denmark 2004-2005. Population. A total of 69,147 women participated (participation rate of 65%) in the study.METHODS: A random sample of women from the general female population (18-45 years) in Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden were invited to answer a self-administered questionnaire regarding HPV and lifestyle habits.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Having heard of HPV.RESULTS: Overall, a total of 32.6% had ever heard about HPV. Respectively, only 25.1% of Danish women, 33.0% Norwegian women, 32.5% Swedish women, and 41.0% Icelandic women had heard about HPV. The most important correlates associated with ever having heard of HPV were a history of genital warts (odds ratios, OR=2.57; 99% confidence intervals, CI: 2.38-2.76) and educational level (OR=2.06; 99% CI: 1.92-2.21). Other correlates associated with awareness of HPV were being single during pregnancy, never having been pregnant, former use of hormonal contraceptives and condom use.CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that at least two-thirds of Nordic women have never heard of HPV. These data are important for developing and evaluating strategies to inform and educate the population about HPV infection and disease.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Adult
KW - Age Factors
KW - Cohort Studies
KW - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW - Educational Status
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Knowledge
KW - Logistic Models
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Multivariate Analysis
KW - Papillomaviridae
KW - Papillomavirus Infections/epidemiology
KW - Scandinavian and Nordic Countries/epidemiology
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
KW - Tumor Virus Infections/virology
KW - Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/virology
U2 - 10.1080/00016340802326373
DO - 10.1080/00016340802326373
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 18763170
SN - 0001-6349
VL - 87
SP - 1048
EP - 1054
JO - Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
JF - Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
IS - 10
ER -