Background: Screening programs for cervical neoplasm among women in the\nKingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) are very limited. Objective: To investigate\nthe prevalence and risk factors of cervical epithelial abnormalities among patients\nattending a health care specialty center (HCSC) of King Abdulaziz\nMedical City, Riyadh, KSA. Design: A questionnaire was developed to collect\ninformation about socio-demographic variables followed by cytopathological\nanalysis of Papanicolaou (Pap) smear. Settings: Female patients attending the\ngynecology clinic in the HCSC for cervical abnormalities during 2006 and\n2008 were selected for the study. Subjects and Methods: Pap smear was collected\nand subjected to cytopathological analysis, which was further classified according\nto the revised Bethesda 2001 system. Information on socio-demographic variables,\ntype and duration of oral contraceptives usage, active or passive smoking, history\nof sexually transmitted disease, or cervical cancer was collected by trained\nhealthcare professionals. Results were analyzed using chi-square test and\nt-test. Main outcome measures: Lower frequency of cervical lesions among\nKSA females in comparison with the western countries. Results: A total of 495\nPap smears were studied, out of which 31 Pap smears were found to be unsatisfactory\nand therefore excluded. Among the remaining Pap smears, 6.5%\nwere found to be abnormal; however, this was not statistically significant.\nNone of the studied socio-demographic factors were found to be significantly\ncorrelated with the appearance of abnormal Pap smears, except for passive\nsmoking. Conclusion: Saudi Arabia had a lower frequency of cervical lesions\nin comparison with the western countries. Further, this study can serve as a pilot study for a larger national screening program for the identification of\nprevalence and risk factors of cervical lesions in the women of KSA. Limitations:\nCases included in the study belong to the particular period, and patients\nwith abnormal Pap smears were not followed up. In-extension, the included\ndata were not restricted for a particular community.
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