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Concerns arise about HPV vaccine, infertility in males
Some parents of adolescent boys are concerned about infertility as an adverse effect of the HPV vaccine, which may contribute to low vaccination rates in males, according to a paper presented at the 2013 Meeting of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine.
For the cross-sectional study, participants were asked to complete a survey at a general pediatrics clinic serving a general population. Researchers found that of 290 parents surveyed, 39% were concerned about what the HPV vaccine would do to their son’s fertility.
Researchers found that having knowledge of HPV did not significantly differ between worried parents and those who were not (adjusted OR=0.97; 95% CI, 0.45-2.10).
Christine L. Schuler
Parents concerned about infertility were twice as likely to have concerns of long-term adverse effects of the vaccine as those without concern (aOR=2.29; 95% CI, 1.38-3.80), according to researchers. They also were twice as likely to agree that they did not have enough knowledge to decide whether to vaccinate their sons (aOR=2.14; 95% CI, 1.23-3.74).
In addition, concerned parents had less intention of vaccinating their sons in the next year compared with parents without concern (aOR=0.56; 95% CI, 0.32-1.01).
“Concern about vaccine-associated infertility should be taken seriously, as such concerns may be contributing to low vaccination rates against HPV in males,” researchers said in the abstract. “Clinicians should make efforts to address concerns about vaccine-associated infertility in discussions with families about HPV vaccine.”
For more information:
Schuler C. Abstract #30. Presented at: Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine 2013; March 13-16, 2013; Atlanta.
Disclosure: The study was funded in part by Merck.