Women and young ladies who are vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) seem to be no more likely than those who are not vaccinated to interact in sexually risky behaviors, a CDC survey finds.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S., with an approximated 6.two million new infections every year.
Two kinds of the virus, HPV sixteen and HPV 18, are responsible for 70% of cervical cancers. HPV also causes genital warts and can lead to cancer of the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis, and anus.
With the approval of the first vaccine to prevent HPV infection in 2006 and the second in 2009, issues emerged that vaccination may promote sexually risky behaviors.
Results from the CDC survey suggest these issues may be unfounded, but researcher Nicole Do. Liddon, PhD, warns in opposition to more than-interpreting the findings.
Liddon is a research scientist with the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and College Health.
“This survey represents a snapshot in time, and we can’t rule out the chance that the HPV vaccine leads to sexual risk taking,” she tells WebMD. “But this ought to help calm concerns of mother and father and (health treatment) companies to some diploma.”
HPV Typical in the Sexually Energetic
Amongst non-vaccinated girls and boys, infection with HPV is very common following initiation of sexual behavior.
By one estimate, 24% of teenaged women in the U.S. in between the ages of fourteen and 19 and forty five% of ladies in their early to mid-20s are contaminated with HPV.
For this reason, vaccination efforts target women who are not however sexually active. Present recommendations contact for vaccination of girls and ladies ages eleven-26 with the Cervarix or Gardasil vaccine. The Gardasil vaccine is also authorized for use in boys.
In an effort to look at vaccine coverage rates and whether or not becoming vaccinated against HPV has any impact on behavior, Liddon and colleagues examined survey information from more than 1,200 youthful ladies in between the ages of fifteen and 24.
The women had been participants in a CDC-sponsored survey examining sexual and reproductive health problems among teenagers and youthful grownups.
The young women were surveyed in between 2007 and 2008, after the first HPV vaccine became accessible.
Twice as numerous teenagers as women in their early 20s noted initiating the 3-dose HPV vaccine series (thirty% vs. 15%). Liddon states this discovering was not shocking because early efforts to promote the vaccine focused on teens.
Among the surveyed teens, race did not seem to be a element in HPV vaccine coverage, but youthful women with health insurance coverage had been more likely to have had initiated HPV vaccination than youthful ladies without health insurance coverage.
The survey did not consist of info on the youthful women’s ages at HPV vaccination, and it was not distinct if vaccination occurred before or after they became sexually energetic.
Amongst sexually active women, these who had initiated HPV vaccination were much more most likely than unvaccinated women to report that they regularly used a condom during intercourse.
The researchers conclude that this may be simply because young ladies who are more concerned about training secure intercourse are also much more most likely to be vaccinated in opposition to HPV.
HPV Vaccination Prices Lagging
In a report released final August, CDC officials reported that HPV vaccination rates amongst teenagers are lagging behind two other vaccines introduced for the age group at close to the same time.
Melinda Wharton, MD, MPH, of the CDC, states it seems numerous well being care providers are not offering the HPV vaccine to their youthful feminine patients at age 11 or twelve as recommended, but are instead vaccinating women later.
Wharton is deputy director of the Nationwide Middle for Immunization and Respiratory Illnesses.
“There is a sense that it is Ok to wait around until nearer to the time that teens become sexually active,” she tells WebMD. “The problem is that you may be waiting around until it is too late for vaccination to have an impact.”
She states pediatricians and other well being treatment companies require to recommend the HPV vaccine as strongly as they recommend other immunizations.
