HPV

More Than 40% of US Adults Are Infected With HPV

More than 40% of adults in the United States have genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, according to new estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for 2011-2014 and 2013-2014, the NCHS estimated national rates of oral HPV prevalence among adults aged 18 to 69 years and genital HPV prevalence among adults aged 18 to 59 years.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RELATED CONTENT
Reduced Radiation Treatment May Benefit Patients with HPV Oropharynx Cancers
Standard HPV Vaccine Dose May Be More Protective Than Reduced Dose
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Among their key findings:

  • The prevalence of any oral HPV was 7.3% for adults aged 18 to 69 years old.
  • From 2013 to 2014, prevalence of any genital HPV and high-risk genital HPV among adults aged 18 to 59 years was 45.2% and 25.1% in men and 39.9% and 20.4% in women, respectively.
  • The prevalence of any and high-risk genital HPV was lower among non-Hispanic Asian adults and higher among non-Hispanic black adults than in non-Hispanic white and Hispanic men and women.
  • The prevalence of any oral HPV and high-risk HPV was higher in men than in women, except for high-risk HPV in Asian adults.

The researchers noted that these estimates are conservative, as NHANES does not include data on populations that may be at increased risk for HPV, including those who are institutionalized, incarcerated, in long-term care facilities, and injection-drug users.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

McQuillan G, Kruszon-Moran D, Markowitz LE, Unger ER, Paulose-Ram R. Prevalence of HPV in adults aged 18–69: United States, 2011–2014: NCHS Data Brief No. 280. National Center for Health Statistics. April 6, 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db280.htm.