LAUSR

OBJECTIVE The human papillomavirus (HPV) has been associated with an important psychosocial impact. This impact has been poorly evaluated in developing countries, mostly because of the lack of instruments to quantify it. The HIP questionnaire aims to measure HPV-associated affective burden. Our team has previously translated this questionnaire to Arabic and used it to assess the impact of HPV on Lebanese women. MATERIALS AND METHODS While the HIP is a specific tool to evaluate the emotional impact of HPV, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaire consists of 2 scales, anxiety and depression, and assess the psychological distress in nonpsychiatric patients. The HPV impact profile and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaires were administered to 118 Lebanese women with an HPV-related presentation, aiming to determine which aspect of these women's lives was mostly affected. The association with different sociodemographic factors was also assessed. RESULTS Feelings of "concerns and worries" were mostly strongly felt in our population except for women with genital warts who were more concerned with the risk of transmission and the impact on their partners. All women had predominant feelings of anxiety.Religion was a statistically significant influencing factor and employment a protective factor. Muslim women demonstrated significant adverse affects on HPV impact profile domains that included: "sexual impact," "self-image," "interaction with doctors," and "health control/life impact." CONCLUSIONS Different women perceive the diagnosis of HPV and HPV-related lesions differently. In this study, employment was found to play a protective role, but the biggest influencers were social and religious beliefs.