Incidence of High-Grade Vulvovaginal Lesions Lower With HPV Vaccination

TUESDAY, Dec. 30, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Women vaccinated for human papillomavirus (HPV) have a lower incidence of high-grade vulvovaginal lesions compared with unvaccinated women, according to a study published online Dec. 18 in JAMA Oncology.Yunyang Deng, Ph.D., from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and colleagues examined the association between quadrivalent HPV vaccination and high-grade vulvovaginal lesions and assessed the population-level reduction in incidence among birth cohorts eligible for vaccination programs. The cohort study included women who were born between 1985 and 1998. Birth cohorts corresponded to different vaccination programs: opportunistic vaccination (1985 to 1988), subsidized vaccination (1989 to 1992), and catch-up vaccination (1993 to 1998).Among 778,943 women, 32.9 percent received at least one dose of quadrivalent HPV vaccine. The researchers found there were 98 cases of high-grade vulvovaginal lesions in vaccinated women and 547 cases in unvaccinated women. The fully adjusted incidence rate ratio of high-grade vulvovaginal lesions was 0.63 in vaccinated women compared with unvaccinated women. On stratification by age at vaccination, the incidence rate ratios were 0.45 and 0.80 for those vaccinated at 10 to 16 years and 17 years or older, respectively. The incidence rate ratios were 0.81 and 0.62 for those born in 1989 to 1992 and 1993 to 1998, respectively, compared with those born between 1985 and 1988."The results highlight the importance of offering the HPV vaccine to girls at an early stage in life, before they become sexually active," Deng said in a statement.One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Incidence of High-Grade Vulvovaginal Lesions Lower With HPV Vaccination

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