Background: Little is known about the risk factors for cutaneous human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.
Methods: To investigate factors associated with cutaneous HPV seropositivity, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 411 patients undergoing routine skin cancer screening examinations. Serum antibodies were measured and evaluated for 36 cutaneous HPV types in the genera alpha, beta, gamma, mu, and nu. Associations of demographic and lifestyle factors with cutaneous HPV seropositivity were estimated using odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals calculated using logistic regression.
Results: The seroprevalence of 1 cutaneous HPV type was 96% and 90% for men and women, respectively. Seroprevalence was highest for HPV types 4 (46%), 1 (37%), and 8 (31%) in men and for types 4 (47%), 63 (34%), and 1 (33%) in women. Independent associations of demographic and skin cancer risk factors with genus-specific HPV seropositivity differed by sex. For example, white skin, inability to tan, and lifetime residency in Florida were factors associated with genus-specific HPV seropositivity in men. Heavy smoking, sunscreen use, and green eye color were associated with genus-specific HPV seropositivity in women.
Conclusions: Seroreactivity to cutaneous HPV types was highly prevalent in our study population. Different risk factors were independently associated with genus-specific cutaneous HPV seropositivity in men and women.