Evaluation of HPV, smear and colposcopy results in patients with diabetes

Diabetes associated with cervical carcinoma among high-risk HPV-infected patients with cytologically diagnosed high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion

BACKGROUND

Diabetes causes metabolic disorders and immune changes that may be potential triggers of cervical cancer. Therefore, diabetes is not a "bystander" to cervical cancer. However, the conclusion that diabetes promotes cervical cancer lacks clinical epidemiological evidence, and the reported potential association between diabetes and cervical cancer is controversial.

METHODS

We conducted an explorative cross-sectional study of 791 women with cytological HGSIL and HR-HPV, who attended the cervical clinic of the largest academic women's hospital in China from May 2019 to March 2022. After cervical screening, patients who were requiring colposcopy were tested for HbA1c. HbA1c level of 6.5% or higher defines diabetes and HbA1c level of 5.7%-6.4% was defined as prediabetes. The relationship between diabetes and cervical cancer was observed by a dose-response graph. Subgroup analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were conducted to estimate the associations between diabetes and cervical cancer.

RESULTS

Among HGSIL patients with high-risk HPV infection, compared with women with HbA1c <5.7%, the odds ratio for women with prediabetes was 1.72 (95% CI: 0.87-3.41) and the odds ratio for women with diabetes was 3.29 (95% CI: 1.10-9.80) for cervical cancer. Sensitivity analysis showed that diabetes was significantly associated with cervical cancer in different age groups and different HPV variant. E-value analysis showed robustness to unmeasured confounding.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with HR-HPV combined with HGSIL, diabetes and prediabetes are associated with cervical cancer.

Diabetes associated with HPV infection in women aged over 50 years: A cross-sectional study from China's largest academic woman's hospital

BACKGROUND

Metabolic disturbances and immune alterations caused by diabetes are not just bystanders of HPV infection, but the conclusion that diabetes increases the risk of HPV infection requires more clinical epidemiological evidence to confirm. Our aim was to evaluate the association of diabetes with HPV infection risk in female patients aged over 50 years in the cervical clinic.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study of 6402 women aged over 50 years in the cervical clinic between May 2019 and March 2022 from China's largest academic woman's hospital. The quantitative-effect relationship between diabetes and HPV infection was observed by dose-response graph. Segmented multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to estimate the relative risk of HPV infection in diabetes patients. Multivariable predicted marginal proportions from logistic regression models were used to compute adjusted risk ratios.

RESULTS

There is a nonlinear relationship between HbA1c and the risk of HPV infection. When the HbA1c exceeds 5.7%, there is a saturation effect. After adjustment for confounders, the risk ratio for HPV infection in women with prediabetes was 1.09 (95% CI: 1.00-1.18) compared with women with HbA1c <5.7%, and the risk ratio for HPV infection in women with diabetes was 1.18 (95%). CI: 1.04-1.33). Sensitivity analysis showed that the risk ratio for HPV infection was 1.47 (95% CL: 1.07-1.91) when diabetes was associated with vaginitis. E-value analysis suggested robustness to unmeasured confounding.

CONCLUSIONS

Diabetes and prediabetes are at increased risk of coinfection with HPV in female patients aged over 50 years in the cervical clinic.