Men and HPV Vaccination

Despite human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programs becoming available to the public in 2009, vaccination rates among men remained relatively low, a new study found.

And that could be a public health problem because HPV, a sexually transmitted infection, can raise the risk of certain types of cancer in men, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That's not to mention that men can spread the virus to women, who may face a raised risk of cervical cancer after becoming infected.

Around 45 percent of the 1,868 men included in this study had HPV, and only around 11 percent had received the vaccine. 

However, only around 29 percent of the men between the ages of 18 and 22 had HPV, this study found. The Womack Army Medical Center researchers behind this study said that could reflect the current practice of giving the HPV vaccine to younger men — something the CDC currently recommends.

These are several limitations of the study, including the fact that vaccination and sexual history were self-reported by participants. In addition, men collected the HPV samples themselves.

The CDC recommends preteen boys and girls, who are between the ages of 11 and 12 years old, receive the HPV vaccine as a protection against the HPV infection. For those teens who did not complete the vaccine schedule, the CDC recommends immediate vaccination.  

Talk to your doctor about how to lower your risk for HPV.

This study was published in JAMA Oncology.

The study authors disclosed no outside funding sources or potential conflicts of interest.