HPV Vaccination Used Less in Southern States: Study

A recent study shows that the human papillomavirus vaccine's use is significantly lower in southern parts of the United States.

According to researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, these findings suggest a disconnect between the vaccine and cervical cancer prevention.

Researchers studied women ages 18 to 26 in 12 states. They collected data between 2008 and 2010 from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, also known as the world's largest ongoing health survey that encompases 12 states in four distinct regions, including the following:  the Northeast (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island); the Midwest (Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska); the West (Wyoming); and the South (Delaware, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia).

The results of the study show the following, courtesy of a press release:

• Nationwide, an average of 28 percent of women reported initiating the vaccine and 17 percent reported completing the three-dose series over the three-year period. When examined by region:
  • Over the three-year period, HPV vaccine initiation and completion rates were 37.2 percent and 23.1 percent in the Northeast; 28.7 percent and 19.3 percent in the Midwest/West; and 14 percent and 6 percent in the South;
  • Initiation and completion rates were consistently lowest in the South;
  • Initiation rate in the Northeast was 20.8 percent in 2008 and 44.1 percent in 2010;
  • Initiation rate in the Midwest/West was 36.4 percent in 2008 and 29.2 percent in 2010; and
  • Initiation rate in the South was 14 percent in 2008 and 22.5 percent in 2010.

• Despite the increase in uptake over the period of time, the South's vaccine initiation rate in 2010 remained very low (22.5 percent) compared with the Northeast (44.1 percent).
• Adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, income, health coverage and routine medical check-ups/flu vaccines, women living in the South were still less likely to initiate or complete the HPV vaccine series.
• White women were more likely to initiate and complete the vaccine series compared with other races/ethnicities.

"If a lower rate of HPV vaccine uptake in the South persists, it could contribute to the national burden of cervical cancer in the long run," says Dr. Abbey Berenson, professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology and director of UTMB's Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health and contributor to this study.

"We need more physician referrals, public financing for vaccine programs and educational interventions to improve HPV vaccine uptake if we want to lower rates of HPV-related diseases," said Berenson.

At this time, it's estimated that 79 million Americans are currently infected with HPV.

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Vaccine.