Determinants of Precancerous Cervical Lesions - Among Women Screened for Cervical Cancer at Debre Markos Town Public Health Facilities, Ethiopia

Q: What was the main objective of the study?

To identify determinants of precancerous cervical lesions among women screened for cervical cancer at Debre Markos town public health facilities in Ethiopia.

Q: How was the study conducted and who participated?

An institution-based unmatched case-control study included 340 women (85 cases and 255 controls) who underwent cervical cancer screening, using structured interviewer-administered questionnaires and chart review.

Q: Which factors were identified as significant determinants of precancerous cervical lesions?

Age over 40, rural residence, living alone, history of STIs, female genital mutilation, early initiated sexual intercourse, HIV positivity, and having two or more lifetime sexual partners.

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Valentina

Determinants of precancerous cervical lesions were investigated among women screened for cervical cancer in Debre Markos town public health facilities, Ethiopia. The study addressed the limited evidence on which behavioral, biological, and socio-cultural factors drive pre-cancerous changes despite prevention efforts using acetic acid screening and vaccination. An unmatched institution-based case-control design analyzed questionnaire and chart review data from 340 women. Age over 40, rural residence, living alone, STI history, genital mutilation, early sexual debut, HIV infection, and multiple lifetime partners were identified as significant determinants.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Keywords

Background (cervical cancer context)

Ethiopia and burden of disease

Belayneh etal. Reproductive Health (2026) 23:166 Reproductive Health [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-026-02399-6](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-026-02399-6) RESEARCH Open Access Determinants of precancerous cervical lesions among women screened for cervical cancer at Debre Markos town public health facilities, Ethiopia Yehualashet Belayneh1, Aysheshim Asnake Abneh2*, Asmamaw Mengist1, Tadele Derbew Kassie2 andYilkal Tafere2 Abstract Background The potential for precancerous cervical lesions to develop into cervical cancer over time is a significant public health concern in low and middle-income countries, including Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government is supporting the prevention of cervical cancer by acetic acid screening and vaccinations. However, the determinants of precancerous cervical lesions were not well studied. Therefore, this study aimed to identify determinants of pre-cancerous cervical lesions among women screened for cervical cancer at Debre Markos town public health institution, Ethiopia, 2025. Methods An institution-based unmatched case-control study was conducted among 340 women (85 cases and 255 controls) who underwent cervical cancer screening. Cases were selected consecutively, and controls were selected using systematic random sampling. Data were collected through a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and chart review. Data were entered using Epi-Data Version 4.6 and then transferred to STATA 15 for analysis. Descriptive statistical analysis computed frequencies and presented them with texts and tables. To determine the factors linked to precancerous cervical lesions, this study used bivariate logistic regression analysis (P < 0. 25), multivariable logistic regression (P < 0. 05), and odds ratios with 95% Confidence Interval (CIs) . The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was used to evaluate the model’s fitness. Result A total of 85 cases and 255 controls were included in this study, resulting in a 100% response rate. Age above 40 years adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 2.99 (1 .03–8. 90), rural residence AOR = 3.69 (1 .46–9. 36), Live alone AOR = 4.86 (2 .05– 11. 5), history of STIs AOR = 5.3 (2 .12–13. 3), genital mutilation AOR = 5.98 (2 .37–15. 08), early initiated sexual intercourse AOR = 3.47 (1 .27–9. 5), having HIV positive AOR = 7.04 (2 .75–17. 9), and having two or more lifetime sexual partners AOR = 6.87 (2 .74–17. 2) were determinants of precancerous cervical lesion. Conclusions This study highlights the importance of behavioural, biological, and socio-cultural factors in the development of precancerous cervical lesions among women in Ethiopia. HIV infection, history of sexually transmitted infections, multiple sexual partners, and female genital mutilation were identified as key determinants requiring *Correspondence: Aysheshim Asnake Abneh [aysheshimasnake@gmail.com](aysheshimasnake@gmail.com); [Aysheshim_asnake@dmu.edu.et](Aysheshim_asnake@dmu.edu.et)[ ](Aysheshim_asnake@dmu.edu.et)Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2026. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.)[.

FAQs

What was the main objective of the study?

To identify determinants of precancerous cervical lesions among women screened for cervical cancer at Debre Markos town public health facilities in Ethiopia.

How was the study conducted and who participated?

An institution-based unmatched case-control study included 340 women (85 cases and 255 controls) who underwent cervical cancer screening, using structured interviewer-administered questionnaires and chart review.

Which factors were identified as significant determinants of precancerous cervical lesions?

Age over 40, rural residence, living alone, history of STIs, female genital mutilation, early initiated sexual intercourse, HIV positivity, and having two or more lifetime sexual partners.

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Valentina