Prevalence and incidence of human papillomavirus infection in women in the USA: a systematic review

A systematic review of studies published in the last decade was conducted to summarize data on the epidemiology of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the USA. A structured protocol was used to screen studies for review. Studies had to meet the following criteria: (1) the study was conducted in the USA, (2) the study population was predominantly adolescent women, (3) the description of the study's methodological and statistical methods is provided, and (4) the prevalence and/or incidence of HPV were clearly stated. The prevalence of HPV reported in the assessed studies ranged from 14% to more than 90%. The highest prevalence of HPV was identified among women attending sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinics and college students' identifying them as target populations for prevention interventions. Conversely, the lowest HPV prevalence was among women in the general population. The review also revealed that HPV prevalence in African Americans is understudied, and the results of a few studies in this area are inconclusive.