Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the third most common form of cancer among women worldwide. Yet it is one of the few cancers that can be detected and prevented at precancerous stage. Even though different studies were conducted in different areas in Ethiopia, the risk factors for cervical precancerous lesions in the Ethiopian setting are not well identified. PURPOSE: To determine prevalence of precancerous cervical lesion and associated factors among women of reproductive age group attending screening center at Adama Hospital and Medical College. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out from June 11 to July 11, 2019. Data was collected through interview aided questionnaires and visual inspection with acetic acid applied for screening and treatment. A random sample of 293 were included in the study. Data was entered into Epi Info version 7, and analyzed by SPSS version 21. Descriptive analysis was conducted to describe the study population and a logistic regression analysis was applied to assess the association of independent variables with the outcome variable. The level of significance of association was determined at p- value<0.05. RESULTS: Out of the total 293 screened women, 15.7% (95% CI: 11.3%-20.1%) were found to be positive for precancerous cervical lesion. After controlling for the effect of other confounding factors, four variables, absence of menses (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.18, 95% CI (0.04, 0.87)), history of pelvic infection [AOR = 2.82; 95% CI (1.21, 6.59)], history of STI [AOR = 2.65; 95% CI (1.26, 5.56)] and having a partner who had another partner [AOR = 2.41; 95% CI (1.08, 5.38)] were found to be significantly associated with precancerous cervical cancer at cut-off point p-value less than 0.05. CONCLUSION: Menstrual history, history of pelvic infection, history of STI, and had a partner who had another partner were found to be significantly associated with precancerous cervical lesion.