Beware, women! Stress can worsen HPV infection

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: A recent study conducted by health experts suggests that stress and depression might prove harmful to women with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.

If it continues for some years, it can even lead to cervical cancer and other complication in women.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) and is different from the HIV and herpes viruses.

Women with HPV infection should be advised that stress reduction may help them clear infection and drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes may hamper their ability to clear the infection.

"Women who reported self-destructive coping strategies, like drinking, smoking cigarettes or taking drugs when stressed, were more likely to develop an active HPV infection," said principal investigator Anna-Barbara Moscicki from University of California's Los Angeles school of medicine.

"We also found that women who were depressed or perceived themselves to have lots of stress were more likely to have HPV persistence," Moscicki added.

(With IANS inputs)