Infection with high-risk (HR) types of genital human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary cause of cervical cancer, the second most prevalent cancer among women worldwide and the most common cancer of all HPV- related cancers. Prevention of HPV infection in women includes the promotion of behavioral risk-reduction strategies. Including men in such prevention programs is important, as men play a direct role in transmitting HR HPV to their female sex partners. Although patterns of communicating the diagnosis of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) to sex partners have been studied, very little is known about partner communication regarding HPV infection. An increasing number of men appear to be undergoing HPV DNA testing but no study has to date studied how men who are diagnosed with HR HPV infection are communicating this knowledge to their female sex partners. The goal of the proposed study is to understand the patterns and outcomes of disclosure among young heterosexual men infected with HR HPV. We have been conducting a longitudinal study of the natural history of HPV infection in young men at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA and previously found the cumulative incidence of HR HPV infection over a two-year period to be 47.9% (95% confidence interval: 38.6, 58.0). Among men detected with incident HR HPV infection, we have a unique opportunity to study their communication patterns regarding their infection. Given the high incidence of HR HPV infection in this population, we propose to: 1) determine subject- and partner-level factors associated with disclosing incident HR HPV infection to past and current female sex partners and;2) determine the positive and negative consequences of such disclosure. We will use data from bi-weekly sexual history diaries and genital specimens collected from the ongoing longitudinal study in combination with a newly developed web- based partner communication survey to address these aims in a cost-effective manner. The proposed study will provide the first data on the patterns and outcomes of male-to-female disclosure of HPV infections. As testing for HPV becomes more common in men, findings from the proposed study could be important and timely for the development of population-based behavioral approaches to prevent HR HPV transmission to reduce the morbidity and mortality of cervical cancer and of other HPV-related cancers.
The proposed study will provide the first data on male-to-female disclosure of HPV infections. As testing for HPV becomes more common in men, findings from the proposed study could be important and timely for the development of behavioral approaches to prevent HR HPV transmission to reduce the morbidity and mortality of HPV-related cancers.
| Arima, Yuzo; Winer, Rachel L; Kurth, Ann E et al. (2012) Disclosure of genital human papillomavirus infection to female sex partners by young men. Sex Transm Dis 39:583-7 |
