HPV infection ups risk of new-onset hidradenitis suppurativa

Infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) contributes to an increased risk of developing hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), indicating a potential association, reveals a study.

“The exact cause of HS remains unclear, although emerging research suggests a link between infectious agents and inflammatory skin diseases,” said the authors who conducted this retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX research network to assess the risk of incident HS in patients with HPV infection

Patients with an HPV diagnosis and matched controls were included. Propensity score matching  was adjusted for the following variables: age, sex, race, BMI, comorbidities, and lifestyle factors.

New-onset HS, analysed across demographic and clinical factors, was the primary outcome. The authors calculated hazard ratios (HRs) with 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the risk.

After propensity score matching, HPV and matched control cohorts included a total of 582,007 patients. Those with HPV infection showed a significantly greater risk of developing HS (HR, 1.356, 95 percent CI, 1.290–1.427). This risk increase persisted across various demographic and clinical groups.

The robustness of these findings was confirmed in sensitivity analyses.

The study was limited by its retrospective cohort design.

“Further research is required to validate these results and assess their impact in different populations and clinical settings, as well as also elucidate the potential impact of other infections involved in the pathogenesis of HS,” the authors said.