Teen girl behavior not linked to later HPV risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Sexual activity and other behaviors during early adolescence do not predict which women are likely to become infected with cervical cancer-related human papillomavirus (HPV) in young adulthood, new research indicates. Therefore, teen behaviors don't identify who would benefit most from HPV vaccination.

As Dr. Amanda F. Dempsey and colleagues write in the medical journal Pediatrics, "A risk factor-based approach to HPV catch-up vaccination is unlikely to be an effective implementation strategy."

Dempsey, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and her team assessed the association between adolescent characteristics and future HPV infection by analyzing data from the waves I and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

The analysis included 3181 females who were older than 12 years during risk factor assessment in wave I (1994-1995) and who underwent HPV testing as young adults in wave III (2001-2002).

Risk factors examined in sexually active subjects included number of sexual partners and age of sexual partners, among others. In virginal subjects, factors such as grade point average, history of school problems, and regular alcohol/cigarette use were assessed.

"Whether or not an adolescent was sexually active did not have an association with future HPV infection," Dempsey said in a statement. In fact, no behavioral characteristics in either sexually active or virginal adolescents predicted future HPV infection.

On the other hand, Dempsey added, "Essentially all individuals who become sexually active are at risk for acquiring HPV, which is due to the high prevalence of HPV in society. So targeting particular groups for vaccination would prevent many at-risk women from being protected."

SOURCE: Pediatrics, July 2008.