Nearly one-third of males older than 15 have at least one type of the genital human virus (HPV), which is the most common sexually transmitted disease, as per the findings of a research study conducted in the male population.
The study, released this morning within The Lancet Global Health and conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), as well as IdibELL, the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), is based on an extensive review as well as a meta-analysis of the incidence of HPV genital infection within men in general.
According to the report, the worldwide prevalence of HPV among men over 15 is quite high (31%) and has a higher prevalence among men who are sexually active regardless of age, which is a significant reservoir of sexually transmitted HPV infection.
Out of more than 200 HPV-related variables, 12 are designated “high risk” (HR-HPV) due to their potential for carcinogenesis, and in accordance with the research findings, it affects one in five males in the world and has a total pooled incidence of 21 percent.
These estimates also indicate that prevalence is at the highest level of infection among younger adults aged between 25 and 29 years old (35 percent), with genotype 16 being the most common and at the same time the most significant source (along with genotype 18) in cancer.
In terms of geography, these results reveal that the greatest prevalence of any kind of HPV is in sub-Saharan African countries (37 percent), followed by Europe as well as North America (36%), and the lowest rate is observed for East as well as Southeast Asia, with a 15% prevalence for all types of HPV.
HPV-related prostate cancers among males, mostly penile, oral, or throat cancers, were reported to have amounted to 69,400 patients in 2018, according to the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer.
When it comes to females, the hepatitis B virus is the primary reason for cervical cancer. Every year, it causes the deaths of 340,000 women.
In spite of the fact that many medical cases of human papilloma are not symptomatic, the authors of the study plan to raise consciousness with this information regarding the significance of integrating the male population in preventive strategies and to decrease mortality and morbidity in both men and women.
