Cervical cancer screening results among women in Mississippi suggests that young Black women have a higher prevalence of infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) at younger ages than do White women. Researchers studied 6,871 women who underwent cervical cancer screening in Mississippi during 2018.
The prevalence of HPV infection was 50.2% among Black participants aged 21 to 24 years and 30.2% among those aged 30 to 34 years, compared to White women with 32.1% and 20.7%, respectively.
Researchers also found that signs of cervical precancer peaked in Blacks at an earlier age (25-29) than in Whites (35-39).
- See “Racial Differences Significant in HPV Infection Among Women in Mississippi” by Vicki Moore on the Oncology Nurse Advisor website (December 2, 2021)
- See the full text of the scientific paper “Age-specific prevalence of human papillomavirus and abnormal cytology at baseline in a diverse statewide prospective cohort of individuals undergoing cervical cancer screening in Mississippi” by Megan A. Clarke et al.
