Comprimento dos telômeros e relação com alterações citopatológicas e presença de HPV em mulheres atendidas em ambulatório de ginecologia

Abstract

HPV infection is highly prevalent in young women and is associated with the development of cervical cancer. Therefore, it is essential to develop more effective diagnostic methods for screening and early diagnosis in this population. This study analyzed telomere length and its relationship with cytopathological changes and the presence of HPV in women treated at a gynecology outpatient clinic in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul. A quantitative, cross- sectional, descriptive and analytical study was carried out with 74 women, including 19 and 74 years old, treated at a gynecology outpatient clinic between August 2022 and June 2024. Data collection involved standardized questionnaires, gynecological examinations and quantification of telomere length by polymerase chain occurrence in real time in cervical samples. vaginal. Data were analyzed with GraphPad Prism 8 software, using the Shapiro- Wilk normality test and the Mann-Whitney U test to compare groups. The majority of participants were between 18 and 45 years old (59.4%), with less than nine years of education (78.3%) and employed (59.5%). The average age was 42 years old, and the majority were neither smokers nor alcohol drinkers. In terms of sexual behavior, the majority (86.5%) reported having had only one partner in the last year and did not use condoms regularly (63.5%). In their health history, some women reported previous infections, such as candidiasis (43.2%) and HPV (14.9%). A survey found a prevalence of 29.7% positivity for HPV. However, telomere quantification showed no significant difference in telomere length between age groups of women aged ≤44 years vs women aged ≥45 years (p=0.17) or between women with and without cytological changes associated with HPV. (p=0.14). On the other hand, there was a statistically significant difference in telomere length in the group of women diagnosed positive for HPV compared to the group negative for HPV (p=0.02). It is concluded that the relative length of telomeres is significantly greater in women with positive HPV, indicating a possible association between HPV infection and changes in telomere length. This finding indicates that telomere length analysis can serve as an early indicator of cellular changes in patients with HPV, contributing to the development of more effective screening methods.