BACKGROUND: The @entity1082 is the most common sexually transmitted virus worldwide. The objective of this study was to estimate: 1) the prevalence and the incidence of @entity3502 ( @entity3502 ) in a sample of @entity1 attending community outpatient clinics and 2) the total number of @entity3502 cases in the Italian female population aged 15-64 years. METHODS: A prospective study was performed for a 12-month period between 2009 and 2010, among a sample of @entity1 attending community gynecological outpatient clinics located throughout Italy. Demographic data, for every @entity1 aged 15-64 years, were collected. For @entity1 diagnosed with @entity3502 , behavioral and clinical data were recorded. Prevalence of @entity3502 was calculated as the proportion between the number of @entity1 with @entity3502 and that of @entity1 visiting any of the participating gynecologists; incidence of @entity3502 was calculated as the proportion between the number of @entity1 with a new diagnosis of @entity3502 and that of @entity1 visiting any of the participating gynecologists. Standardized prevalence by age was used to estimate the number of @entity3502 cases occurring in the Italian female population aged 15-64 years. RESULTS: In 2009-2010, 44 community gynecologists were included in the network. In one-year period, 16,410 @entity1 visited any of the participating gynecologists; 63 @entity1 were diagnosed with @entity3502 , corresponding to a prevalence of 3.8 cases per 1,000 @entity1 per year (95%CI: 2.9-4.9). The incidence of @entity3502 was 3.0 cases per 1,000 @entity1 per year (95%CI: 2.2-3.9). @entity1 aged 15-24 years showed both the highest prevalence and incidence. Prevalence and incidence significantly decreased by increasing age group (p   <0.001), and were higher in Southern Italy compared to Central-Northern Italy. The estimated number of @entity1 with @entity3502 among @entity1 aged 15-64 years in Italy, in 2010, was approximately 69,000. CONCLUSIONS: These data show a high prevalence and incidence of @entity3502 among young @entity1 in Italy, stress the effectiveness of community clinical networks in investigating STI epidemiology among @entity1 from the general population, confirm the relevance of HPV vaccination programs among adolescents, and underscore the need of promoting safe sex, implementing early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of genital warts.

Prevalence and incidence of XXXX in a sample of Italian general female population.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['women', 'woman', 'Women'] @entity3502 :: ('MESH:D003218', 'Disease') :: ['eGW', 'external genital warts'] @entity1082 :: ('10566', 'Species') :: ['Human papillomavirus']
@entity3502 :: (MESH:D003218,Disease) :: ['external genital warts']
