Genotype Distribution and Prevalence of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus among Pregnant Women and Maternal-Fetal Pregnancy Outcomes in a Tertiary Hospital in Beijing, China

Background: High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection is the primary reason for cervical cancer and precancerous lesions in females. Specific immune alterations in pregnancy led to greater HR-HPV replication and reduced clearance of HR-HPV infection. This study retrospectively obtained and analyzed data from a tertiary hospital in Beijing, China. We aimed to ascertain both the genotype distribution and prevalence of HR-HPV in pregnant females. Moreover, we sought to analyze the association of HR-HPV with maternal-fetal pregnancy outcomes. Methods: The retrospective observational cohort study was divided into two parts. Part I evaluated the genotype distribution and prevalence of HR-HPV. It encompassed 6285 pregnant women who underwent a routine pregnancy check-up, Thin Prep cytology test (TCT), and HR-HPV diagnosis during weeks 12–14 of gestation between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2021. Part II analyzed the association between HR-HPV infection and maternal-fetal pregnancy outcome. Through a nearest-neighbor 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM), we matched HR-HPV-positive and HR-HPV-negative pregnant women using caliper width equal to 0.02. After PSM, 171 HR-HPV-positive and 171 HR-HPV-negative pregnant women were included to analyze the association between HR-HPV infection and maternal-fetal pregnancy outcome. Results: In total 737 (11.73%) pregnant women were HR-HPV positive. The five most common genotypes of HR-HPV were HPV-52 (2.90%), HPV-58 (2%), HPV-16 (1.94%), HPV-51 (1.38%), and HPV-39 (1.29%). As for age-specific HPV prevalence, a "U-shaped" pattern was observed. The first and second peaks were detected in pregnant females aged <25 years and those aged ≥35 years, respectively. Our study found no significant difference between the HR-HPV-positive and the HR-HPV-negative pregnant females in the following maternal-fetal pregnancy outcomes: spontaneous abortion (1.2% for HR-HPV positive, 0% for HR-HPV negative, p = 0.478), preterm delivery (4.7% for HR-HPV positive, 5.3% for HR-HPV negative, p = 0.804), premature rupture of membrane (28.8% for HR-HPV positive, 22.8% for HR-HPV negative, p = 0.216), preeclampsia (7.6% for HR-HPV positive, 7.6% for HR-HPV negative, p = 1), oligohydramnios (8.2% for HR-HPV positive, 7% for HR-HPV negative, p = 0.683), fetal growth restriction (1.8% for HR-HPV positive, 0.6% for HPV negative, p = 0.615), placenta previa (1.2% for HR-HPV positive, 0.6% for HR-HPV negative, p = 1), postpartum hemorrhage (8.9% for HR-HPV positive, 11.2% for HR-HPV negative, p = 0.47). There was also no significant difference in delivery mode or birth weight between the two groups. Conclusions: HPV-16, 52, and 58 were the most prevalent infection genotypes in pregnant females. The study showed no significant differences between HR-HPV-positive and HR-HPV-negative groups in the maternal-fetal pregnancy outcomes.