HPV Vaccine does not Increase Risk of Promiscuity in Young Women: Study

A recent study that examines sexual behavior and the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine shows that it does not influence the intimate relations of young women.

"We hope this study reassures parents, and thus improves HPV vaccination rates, which in turn will reduce rates of cervical and other cancers that can result from HPV infection," Dr. Jessica Kahn, a physician in the division of adolescent medicine at Cincinnati Children's said, via a press release.

As previous findings have also shown that the vaccine is not linked to increased promiscuity at an earlier age, this survey of more than 300 girls between the ages of 13 to 21 showed that overall, the young women did not change their attitudes towards safe sexual activity, nor their ideas about protections and the possiblity of getting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) two to six months after receiving the vaccines.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notes that as all young men and women develop and begin to become sexually active, many of them will come into contact with a strain of HPV. Fortunately, most do not cause cancer. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the two types of HPV-strains 16 and 18-have been linked to 70 percent of cervical cancer. Yet strains 6 and 11 cause 90 percent of genital warts that tend to be more common.

At the end of the study, the majority of participants said they believed safe sex was still important after receiving the vaccine. They also understood that receiving the vaccine was not a safeguard against unprotected sex. The same safety rules still applied.

"Data demonstrating that HPV vaccination does not lead to riskier behaviors will allow clinicians to provide accurate, evidence-based information to address the concerns of parents and thereby increase vaccination rates," concluded Kahn, via the release.

Health officials note that the vaccine should typically be administered to teen girls and women before the age of 26. For teen boys and men, it should come before the age of 21.

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