Prevalence of HPV and its association with common sexually transmitted infections among women in Shaanxi, China: a cross-sectional study

Cervical cancer (CC) is a leading gynecological malignancy, and persistent infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) is its principal cause; however, HPV infection alone is often insufficient to drive carcinogenesis, and co-existing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) may act as cofactors. This study aimed to evaluate the infection rates of Chlamydia trachomatis ( CT ), Ureaplasma urealyticum ( UU ), Neisseria gonorrhoeae ( NG ), Mycoplasma hominis ( MH ), and Mycoplasma genitalium ( MG ) and co-infections with human papillomavirus (HPV) in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University between January 2022 and November 2025. A total of 31975 cervical exfoliated cell samples from gynecologic outpatients were retrospectively and descriptively analyzed. Vaginal swabs were obtained for detecting CT, UU, NG, MH, and MG DNA testing, and cervical exfoliated cells for HPV genotyping. The detection rates in each group were subsequently analyzed. Among the participants, the detection rates of each pathogen vary. Further, the positive rate for UU+MH was the highest among mixed infections, and the infection rate was 2.24%. Moreover, CT+UU+MH had an infection rate of 0.10%. The infection rates of NG+CT were the highest in the ≤20-year-old age group, the infection rate of UU was the highest in the 21–30-year-old age group. In women aged over 50 years, the prevalence of MH was higher. The most prevalent HPV genotype was HPV16, followed by HPV58, HPV53, HPV52, and HPV61. The overall HPV infection rate was 21.46% (6,862/31,975). NG and CT infection rates were highest in women aged ≤20 years and declined with age, whereas UU infection peaked in the 21–30-year age group and MH prevalence increased with age, being highest in women over 50 years. Mixed infections accounted for a minority of STI-positive cases, with UU+MH being the most common combination (2.24%). In Shaanxi Province, China, there is a higher likelihood of HPV16, HPV52, HPV58, and HPV53 infections among patients with positive samples for genital tract pathogens CT, UU, MH, MG, and NG. These findings can help in developing more effective intervention, prevention, and treatment strategies for sexually transmitted infections. Not applicable.