Table 1.
Characteristics of Studies Included in a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis on the Directionality of Genital HPV Infection Transmission
| Author, y | Geographical Location (Study Period) | Baseline (Analysis) Sample Size | Follow-Up Length, mo | Age, y Mean (Range) | Relationship Status | Relationship Length, mo | Monogamy | Instructions Prior to Visit | Circumcision, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hernandez et al, 2008 [8] | Hawaii, USA (Feb 2005–Nov 2006) | 38 (25) couples | Mean, 7.5 | Women, 26 (18–57) Men, 28 (18–59) | Dating (48%), married (8%), separateda (12%), cohabitating (32%) | Mean, 24.8b Median, 12.4b | 100% of couples | NR | 80 |
| Burchell et al, 2011 [7] | Montreal, Canada (2005–2010) | 308 (179) couples | Median, 5.5 (range 1.8–15.5) | Women, 21.5 Men, 23.9 | Dating | Mean, 4c | 65% (86/133) of female and 74% (66/89) of male partnersd | Abstain from oral, vaginal, or anal sex for 24 h | 57 |
| Mbulawa et al, 2013 [11] | Cape Town, South Africa (2006–2009) | 486 (not reported) couples | 24 | Women, 35 (18–66) Men, 38 (19–67) | Partner | Median, 40.8 | NR | NR | 96.6e |
| Widdice et al, 2013 [10] | California, USA (Feb 2006–Jul 2007) | 25 (25) couples | 1.5 | Women, 22.6 Men, 25.5 | Partner | Median Women, 32 | 92% of couples | Have vaginal intercourse 24 h before visit 2 | 64 |
| (IQR, 9–49) Men, 26 (IQR, 8.5–42) | Abstain from all sexual interaction before visit 3 Engage in normal sexual behaviors for remaining visits (4–6) | ||||||||
| Nyitray et al, 2014 [9] | Tampa, USA (2006–2010) | 137 (65) couples | Median, 25 | Women,f 33 (18–70) Men,f 33 (18–70) | Partner (mix of dating, married, and living together) | Median, 3.5 years | 83% of men and women (6 mo prior to enrollment) | Abstain from sexual activity for 48 h | NR |
| Liu et al, 2015 [16] | Anyang, China (2009–2013) | 874 (296) couples | Median men, 35.7 women, 30.5 | Women, 44 (39–52.5) Men, 44 (39–54) | Married | NRg | NR | Authors reported no sexual activity instructions provided to participants | NR |
| Su et al, 2019 [15] | Liuzhou, China (May 2014–Mar 2016) | 390 (97) couples | Median, 12.5 | Median Women,h 40 (32–46) Men,h 42 (35–49) | Married | NRi | 96.5% of men and 97.9 % of women (y prior to enrollment) | Abstain from sexual activity for 48 h | NR |
Abbreviations: HPV, human papillomavirus; IQR, interquartile range; NR, not reported.
aSeparated includes widowed and divorced.
bAuthor provided us with this information via personal communication.
cFor HPV type discordant couples (n = 179).
dStudy estimates were based on both the ongoing nature of partnerships and discordant HPV infections among couples.
eAssumed to be 96.6%. Circumcision was reported to be 3.4% in 1 study [11] but 2 other publications by the same team and using the same study population reported it to be greater than 95% [17, 18].
fBased on 99 couples who were analyzed for incidence. The 65 couples constitute a subset of these 99 couples.
gVia personal communication, the authors informed us that relationship length information was not collected in their questionnaire. However, given that most study couples reported having only 1 lifetime partner and a median age at first pregnancy of 23 years, the authors suggest that the median relationship duration should be more than 20 years for study couples.
hBased on 340 couples.
iVia personal communication, the authors informed us that they did not collect relationship duration information for the study couples.