Study shows alarming global statistic 1 in 3 men harbors genital human papillomavirus

The findings from a recent study published in The Lancet Global Health showed that almost one in three men worldwide are infected with at least one genital HPV type and around one in five men are infected with one or more HR-HPV types. The findings also show that HPV prevalence is high in men over the age of 15 years and support that sexually active men, regardless of age, are an important reservoir of HPV genital infection.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted viral infection worldwide, and previous research has shown that most sexually active men and women will acquire at least one genital HPV infection during their lives. There are more than 200 HPV types that can be transmitted sexually, and at least 12 types are oncogenic. The majority of HPV infections in men and women are asymptomatic, but they can lead to long-term sequelae and mortality.

The researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the prevalence of genital HPV infection in the general male population. They searched Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, and the Global Index Medicus for studies published between Jan 1, 1995, and June 1, 2022.

They identified 5685 publications from database searches, of which 65 studies were included from 35 countries. The global pooled prevalence was 31% for any HPV and 21% for HR-HPV. HPV-16 was the most prevalent HPV genotype followed by HPV-6. HPV prevalence was high in young adults, reaching a maximum between the ages of 25 years and 29 years, and stabilized or slightly decreased thereafter.

Reference: Laia Bruni, Ginesa Albero, Jane Rowley, Laia Alemany, Marc Arbyn, Anna R Giuliano, Lauri E Markowitz, Nathalie Broutet, Melanie Taylor, Global and regional estimates of genital human papillomavirus prevalence among men: a systematic review and meta-analysis, The Lancet Global Health, Volume 11, Issue 9, 2023, Pages e1345-e1362, ISSN 2214-109X, (https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00305-4)