Prevalence and Determinants of Pre-Cancerous Cervical Lesion and Human Papillomavirus Among HIV-Infected and HIV-Uninfected Women in North-West Ethiopia: A Comparative Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

Mulugeta Kiros,1 Demeke Mesfin Belay,2 Sisay Getu,1 Wasihun Hailemichael,1 Ahmed Esmael,3 Henok Andualem,1 Alene Geteneh4 1Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia; 2Department of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia; 3Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia; 4Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Woldia University, Woldia, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Mulugeta Kiros Email mulugetakiros@gmail.comBackground: The poor socio-economic status, underdeveloped health care system, and the high HIV/AIDS burden have potentially increased the incidence of cervical cancer in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) including Ethiopia. Studies on the magnitude of pre-cancerous cervical lesion and human papillomavirus (HPV) among HIV-infected women are still limited, particularly in the current study setting. Thus, we determined the prevalence of pre-cancerous cervical lesion and HPV among HIV-infected women in comparison with HIV-uninfected women at Debre Tabor Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (DTCSH), North-West Ethiopia.Methods: Hospital-based comparative retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 546 women from July 2018 to January 2020 at DTCSH. All records during the study period were collected using a structured checklist. Epi data version 4.02 and SPSS version 25.0 were used for data entry and analysis, respectively.Results: The overall prevalence of pre-cancerous cervical lesion among 546 women was 8.8%. The prevalence of pre-cancerous cervical lesion was comparable between HIV-infected (9.3%) and HIV-uninfected women (8.6%) (p = 0.859). Age > 45 years old, widowed marital status, multiparous (women ≥ 5 childbirths), and educational status were independent contributing factors of a pre-cancerous cervical lesion. Regarding HPV prevalence, amon