The psychosocial status of pregnant women infected with human papillomavirus

Objective. To assess anxiety in pregnant women with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Subjects and methods. Answers from 330 pregnant women (182 of whom were HPV carriers) to questionnaires, such as the Spielberger-Hanin Anxiety Self-Assessment Scale, the Hospital Anxiety Rating Scale, and questions on cancer fear and reproductive failures during their current pregnancy, were analyzed. Results. The analysis of the data suggests that the HPV carriers are significantly more commonly found to have a higher trait anxiety level (<0.001); the average trait anxiety level (0.015) predominates in HPV-negative pregnant women. Hospital Anxiety Scale scores revealed no difference in the severity of anxiety related to HPV, whereas personal fears of cancer, cervical cancer in particular, and the unsuccessful outcome of the current pregnancy were significantly more pronounced in HPV-positive women (<0.001). Conclusion. Cancer fear is more likely to occur in HPV-positive pregnant women than in HPV-negative ones. On the contrary, anxiety is unassociated to HPV carriage and may be a sequel of psychological changes during pregnancy. © 2019, Bionika Media Ltd. All rights reserved.