MONDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) -- For girls, receipt of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination at the recommended ages (11 to 12 years) does not correlate with an increase in sexual activity-related outcomes, according to a study published online Oct. 15 in Pediatrics.
Robert A. Bednarczyk, Ph.D., from Kaiser Permanente in Atlanta, and colleagues examined sexual activity-related clinical outcomes after HPV vaccination in a cohort of 1,398 11- to 12-year-old girls, of whom 493 were exposed to the HPV vaccine and 905 were not. Outcomes were assessed during up to three years of follow-up.
The researchers found that there was no significant increase in the risk of the composite primary outcome (any pregnancy/sexually transmitted infection testing or diagnosis or contraceptive counseling) in HPV vaccine-exposed versus unexposed girls (rate ratio, 1.29; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.92 to 1.80). There were also no clinically significant differences in absolute risk for Chlamydia infection or pregnancy diagnoses for exposed versus unexposed girls.
"Receipt of HPV vaccine by 11- to 12-year-old girls was not associated with clinical markers of increased sexual activity-related outcomes, such as sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy," Bednarczyk and colleagues conclude.
Several authors or their institutions disclosed financial ties to Merck and Roche.
Abstract
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