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Abstract
Background
Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection with over 150 strains, has affected more than 79 million individuals. The strains are categorized as low-risk or high-risk based on their probability of causing cancer, such as cervical cancer among women and penile cancer among men. Several cancers are associated with HPV, and research is still ongoing regarding the role of HPV in other cancers, such as colon cancer, due to HPV’s oncogenic properties. There is a vaccine for HPV known as Gardasil-9 that is effective in preventing HPV and HPV-associated cancers for ages 9 to 45. Gardasil-9 has a dosage schedule based on the individual’s age at the first dose. The study main objectives for US adults aged 20 and above was to assess if there is a relationship between the HPV vaccine and being diagnosed with a non-gender-specific, female-specific, and male-specific cancer, respectively. The second objective was to assess if there is a dose-response relationship between the HPV vaccine doses and the prevalence of non-gender-specific, female-specific, and male-specific cancer, respectively.
Methods
Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2011 to March 2020 were used. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis, and multiple logistic regression were conducted for this study. The statistical analysis was weighted, and the multiple logistic regression was adjusted for age.
Results
For non-gender-specific cancers, the relationship was not statistically significant with HPV vaccination, and for male-specific cancers, the relationship was not able to be assessed due to inconclusive results. However, for female-specific cancers, the relationship with HPV vaccination was statistically significant due to the interaction between age and education. Regarding the dose-response relationship between HPV dosage levels and the prevalence of the three outcomes, the results show no statistical significance, respectively.
Conclusion
The study findings support the null hypothesis for non-gender-specific and male-specific cancers that the relationship with HPV vaccination is not statistically significant but not for female-specific cancers based on the interaction between age and education. Moreover, the study findings support the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between HPV dosage levels and the study outcomes, respectively.