Nearly one-third of men worldwide have genital HPV
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Key takeaways:
- Globally, 31% of men have some type of genital HPV and 21% are infected with a high-risk HPV type.
- Expanding vaccination programs to include boys and young men may reduce HPV prevalence.
Roughly one-third of men globally have at least one type of genital HPV and one in five are infected with at least one high-risk HPV type, according to the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis.
The review found that HPV prevalence is highest among young men, reaching a maximum between the ages of 25 and 29 years, and then stabilizes or drops among older groups.
HPV vaccines have been available since 2006. The CDC recommends starting the HPV vaccine series at age 11 or 12 years, although children are eligible to receive it as early as age 9 years. Starting that early could improve uptake, research has shown.
The CDC recommends catch-up HPV vaccination up to age 26 years for men and women, and says that patients aged between 26 and 45 years should speak with their physician about potentially receiving the vaccine.
Of more than 200 types of sexually transmitted HPV, at least 12 can cause cancer, Laia Bruni, MD, PhD, MPH, a senior researcher at the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Spain, and colleagues wrote in the new study. Reframing the HPV shot as a cancer vaccine has been shown to improve uptake.
Bruni and colleagues said incorporating men into comprehensive HPV prevention strategies — specifically vaccination — could help address the HPV reservoir in men and advance public health goals to eliminate HPV-related diseases.
“Our study draws attention to the high prevalence ... in men across most regions, and the need for strengthening HPV prevention within overall STI control efforts,” Bruni and colleagues wrote.
“It also emphasizes the scarcity of HPV data among men from some parts of the world and the important of expanding HPV prevalence surveys in these areas to inform and measure the effects of prevention efforts,” they wrote.
Bruni and colleagues pooled data from 65 studies conducted in 35 countries between Jan. 1, 1995, and June 1, 2022, that included 44,769 men and boys aged 15 years or older, and included a sample size of at least 50 men who did not have HPV or known risk factors for the infection.
The global pooled prevalence of HPV was 31% for any HPV and 21% for high-risk HPV (HR-HPV), according to the study. Whereas the risk for any HPV peaked between ages 25 and 29 years, before stabilizing or declining slightly, the risk for and prevalence of HR-HPV was sustained across the adult lifespan.
Regionally, the study’s prevalence estimates were similar across sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and Northern America, but significantly declined in East and Southeast Asia, where prevalence was roughly 15%.
Bruni and colleagues noted that only seven studies included specimens collected after 2014 and that, as a result, their estimates do not reflect the effects of HPV vaccination in women on the HPV prevalence in men.
“Incorporating HPV vaccination for adolescent males into national immunization schedules can be further considered as vaccine supplies allow and single-dose strategies are assessed,” they wrote. “Future epidemiological studies are needed to monitor trends in prevalence in men, especially considering the roll-out of HPV vaccination in girls and young women and that many countries are beginning to vaccinate boys.”
References:
- Bruni L, et al. Lancet Glob Health. 2023;doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00305-4
- Markowitz LE, et al. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2007;doi:10.15585/mmwr.rr5602a1
- CDC. Vaccines and preventable diseases: HPV vaccination recommendations. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/hpv/hcp/recommendations.html. Published Nov, 16, 2021. Accessed Sept. 14, 2023.
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