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.