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HPV vaccine does not increase risk for miscarriage

In Costa Rica, women who became pregnant within 90 days of receiving the bivalent HPV vaccination were not at increased risk for miscarriage, according to recently published data.

“We found no evidence to support the single questionable positive finding of an increased risk of miscarriage from bivalent HPV vaccination reported previously for pregnancies conceived within 90 days after vaccination,” the researchers wrote.

Researchers analyzed data from the NCI Costa Rica HPV Vaccine Trial to assess the correlation between miscarriage and bivalent HPV vaccination. Participants were randomly assigned to receive the HPV vaccine (n = 3,727), a hepatitis A vaccine (n = 3,739) or no vaccine (n = 2,836).

Results demonstrated that 3,394 pregnancies were conceived after bivalent HPV vaccination, with 381 conceived within 90 days of vaccination. Among all pregnancies, 451 ended in miscarriage, of which 50 (13.1%) were conceived within 90 days of vaccination.

Among the 3,227 pregnancies unexposed to the HPV vaccine, there were 414 miscarriages, of which 12.6% were in the hepatitis A vaccine group and 13.6% were in the unvaccinated group.

Among all pregnancies after HPV vaccine exposure, there was an increased risk for miscarriage between 13 and 20 weeks gestation (RR = 1.35, 95% CI; 1.02 – 1.77), but not at any other time during gestation, according to the researchers.  There was no increased risk for miscarriage among pregnancies conceived within 90 days of exposure to the HPV vaccine.

The researchers noted that further studies should focus on their finding of the possible association between HPV exposure and miscarriage during the second trimester, since their findings cannot rule out the association between the two.

“Available data support the safe continuation of HPV vaccination programs according to current guidelines. As with other vaccines, any concerns about possible adverse events must be weighed against the established benefits of vaccination for individuals and the community,” the researchers concluded. – by Casey Hower

Disclosures: Panagiotou reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial discoursers.