Prevalence and factors associated with persistent precancerous cervical lesions among women living with HIV aged 25-49 years following treatment with thermocoagulation in Lango sub-region

Abstract

Background: The burden of cervical cancer in Uganda remains high especially among women living with HIV. Cervical cancer is potentially preventable through screening to identify the precancerous lesions and prompt treatment of the lesions. Persistence of the precancerous lesions is a global problem, with limited data within the Ugandan setting. Objectives: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with persistent precancerous cervical lesions among women living with HIV (WLHIV) on ART aged 25-49 years following treatment with thermocoagulation in Lango sub-region. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study between March 2023 and April 2023 through consecutive sampling on 100 women living with HIV aged 25-49 years who were treated by thermocoagulation during the period 1st January 2021 and 31st December 2021 at 17 study sites within Lango sub-region. Data were entered into EpiData version 4.6 and analyzed with stata 14. Data were adjusted for clustering and logistic regression was used to determine associations of the factors and the outcome. Results: Among the 100 WLHIV treated by thermocoagulation, prevalence of the persistent precancerous cervical lesions was 8% (95% CI 4.0-15.4) and sexually abstaining for less than six weeks (aPOR: 3.98, 95%CI 1.36-1.84, P<0.001) and having more than one sexual partner (aPOR: 2.75, 95% CI 1.23-2.48, p=0.018) were significantly associated with persistence. Conclusion: The study has established that 8% of the women had persistent precancerous cervical lesions. Based on the research results, sexually abstaining for a period less than the recommended 6 weeks and having more than one sexual partner were significantly associated with persistence of the precancerous lesions.