학술논문

Difference in Pap test uptake between women who have sex with women and other women in France: A comparative survey of 2032 women
Document Type
article
Source
Preventive Medicine Reports, Vol 30, Iss , Pp 101990- (2022)
Subject
WSW
Pap test
Cervical cancer
HPV
Gynecology
Medicine
Language
English
ISSN
2211-3355
Abstract
The elimination of cervical cancer has been a priority of the World Health Organization since 2018. The number of these cancers induced by the human papillomavirus (HPV) could be drastically reduced through vaccination and regularly screening by Pap tests. Guidelines for cervical cancer screening apply to all women, including those who have sexual relations with women (WSW), as HPV can be transmitted during sex between two women. As far as we know, our study is the first that compare the Pap test rate between WSW and other women in France. We developed an 18-item questionnaire available on the internet for 15 days and finally analyzed the responses of 2032 women. Based on their responses about their self-definition of their sexual orientation and their sexual behavior, we classified them into three groups of women: exclusive WSW, mixed WSW, and non-WSW. For each question, we tested the statistical differences in responses between these three groups. Our study shows in a large sample representative of the French population that exclusive WSW undergo Pap tests significantly less often than either mixed WSW or non-WSW. Among the exclusive WSW, 28.9 % had never had a Pap test, compared with 9 % of the mixed WSW and 3.1 % of non-WSW (p