Nearly one in three men over 15 years in the world are infected with at least one variant of the genital human papillomavirus (HPV), the most widespread sexually transmitted infectionaccording to the results of a study carried out among the male population.
The study, published Wednesday in The Lancet Global Health and led by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), is based on a systematic review and meta-analysis that assesses the prevalence of genital infection by HPV in the general population male.
According to the publication, the overall combined prevalence of HPV in men over the age of 15 is high (31%), with a special incidence in sexually active men regardless of age, they represent an important reservoir for genital HPV infections.
Of the more than 200 different HPV variables, twelve are considered “high risk” (HR-HPV) due to its carcinogenic nature and, according to the study findings, they affect approximately one in five men worldwide with a global combined prevalence of 21%.
The estimates presented also show that the prevalence reaches its peak of infection in the young adults between the ages of 25 and 29 (35%), genotype 16 being the most prevalent and at the same time the main cause (along with genotype 18) of cervical cancer.