Abstract:
Background: Despite being one of the few cancers that can be prevented with simple
testing, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. HIV-positive women
showed a median three-fold higher incidence of cervical lesions.
Aim: This study aims to assess the prevalence and factors associated with precancerous
cervical lesions among HIV-infected women attending care and treatment clinic in selected
hospitals of Southwestern Ethiopia.
Methods: Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February 1 to July 30,
2018. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to select 454 HIV-infected
women. Pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire and medical record review were
used for data collection. Visual inspection with Acetic acid was done for participants to
detect precancerous cervical lesions. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20. Binary and
multiple logistic regression analyses were done. The presence and strength of association
were determined using AOR with its 95% CI. Variables with a P value of less than 0.05 were
considered as statistically significant.
Results: The prevalence of precancerous cervical lesion was 18.7% [95% CI; (15.1–
22.4%)]. Currently, not being on highly active antiretroviral treatment [AOR= 2.31, 95%
CI: 1.23–4.39], age (20–29 years) [AOR= 0.185, 95% CI: 0.036,0.939], has no history of
sexually transmitted infection [AOR=0.026, 95% CI: 0.006–0.116], has no history of genital
wart [AOR= 0.261, 95% CI: 0.073–0.934] and having one lifetime sexual partner
[AOR=0.133, 95% CI: 0.024–0.726] were found to be significantly associated with precan
cerous cervical lesion.
Conclusion: The prevalence of Precancerous Cervical lesion was found to be high in this
study. Expansion of screening services and undertaking preventive measures against sexually
transmitted infection need to be emphasized
