Relationship between Vitamin D and Human Papillomavirus Infection: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Introduction: Cervical cancer is the fourth common cancer in women and human papillomavirus is the most common risk factor of it. The present study was performed aimed to determine the relationship between Vitamin D and human papillomavirus in women referring to the hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.Methods: This comparative study was conducted on 140 women referring to the hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences of Tehran in 2020. The case group were women with HPV infection and the control group in the same centers were the women with no HPV infection based on liquid based pap smear. Data was collected by interview and completing the questionnaire of Pap smear and measuring serum level of vitamin D. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 26) and Mann-Whitney test, independent t, chi-square, Fisher's exact and logistic regression. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Logistic regression results and control of confounding variables of education and hookah consumption showed that 64 women (91.43%) in control group and 70 women (100%) in case group had vitamin D level less than 20 ng/ml and 6 women (8.57%) in control group had vitamin D level of 21-29 ng/ml. There was significant relationship between vitamin D and HPV infection (OR: 0.3, CI: 95%, P<0.001, 0.69-4.03). The risk of HPV infection increased as 0.3 by each 1 ng/ml reduction of vitamin D level.Conclusion: In the present study, serum level of vitamin D was lower in women with HPV, but due to the limitations of the present study, more extensive research is needed in this regard. Sufficient vitamin D level can help maintain and promote women's health.

Keywords

• human papillomavirus
• iran
• vitamin d