Prevalence of oral human papillomavirus by vaccination status among young adults (18-30 years old)

Background: Although there is evidence that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination may protect against oral HPV infection, no current research has demonstrated this in the general population. Methods: We used repeated cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2009 and 2014. Participants 18-30 years who indicated whether they had received the HPV vaccine and provided an adequate oral sample were included (N = 3040). Oral HPV types were grouped by vaccine-type (types 6, 11, 16, 18) and by risk (high or low risk). Chi-square analyses compared oral HPV prevalence by vaccination status. Results: Vaccinated adults had a lower prevalence of vaccine-type oral HPV (types 6, 11, 16, 18) compared to unvaccinated adults. Prevalence of non-vaccine high-risk oral HPV was similar between HPV vaccinated and unvaccinated participants. Conclusions: HPV vaccination appears to provide protection against vaccine-type oral HPV infection among males and females in the general population. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.