Sexual Habits and Human Papillomavirus Infection Among Females in Three New Independent States of the Former Soviet Union

Abstract

The results of this study indicate that women and girls in these NIS countries are conservative in many key characteristics of "high-risk" sexual behavior, such as age at onset of sexual activity, number of partners, and casual sex partners. HPV-positive and HPV-negative groups are clearly distinguished by the same variables identified as the key risk factors of HPV infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in Western countries.