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Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor Stefan Hansson, Lund University, Sweden
- Second opponent: Senior Consultant Ane Cecilie Munk, Hospital of Southern Norway,
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Associate Professor Truls Michael Leegaard, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Professor II Anne Flem Jacobsen, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Department Director Christine M. Jonassen, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Summary
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease amongst women of childbearing age. Most HPV infections are transient and cause no clinical symptoms.
The main objective of this thesis was to describe the HPV prevalence in pregnant Scandinavian women. We also explored the possible association between HPV during pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with placental dysfunction, including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes and infants small for gestational age.
Urine samples collected from unselected women at midpregnancy and delivery as well as placentae collected after delivery were analyzed for HPV using polymerase chain reaction.
The prevalence of HPV was almost 40% at midpregnancy and 28% at delivery. The authors found that alcohol consumption during pregnancy and short duration of prepregnancy relation to the child’s father increased the risk for HPV. Only 3% of the placentae collected tested positive for HPV. No association between HPV during pregnancy and placental dysfunction syndromes was found despite the high HPV prevalence. These are reassuring findings for pregnant women with HPV and their healthcare workers.
Additional information
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