Alarming New HPV Study Reports Bad News For the LGBTQ Community

WASHINGTON D.C — An alarming HPV national study just released indicates that both men and women who experience same-sex relationships, are at increased risk for oral HPV infection, especially those with a higher percentage number for people with multiple sex partners.

According to LGBT HealthLink, Men were found to be six times more likely than women to have highest Risk of contracting the HPV Infection. The study also found that more than three times as many men than women in the United States HPV (human papillomavirus) infections which is a virus responsible for causing more than 32,000 new cancers every year.

The study also states that smoking also associated with higher HPV risk. It also claimed that members of the LGBTQ community smoke more than others their heterosexual counterparts.

Low-risk HPV types
Some types of HPV can cause warts (papillomas) on or around the genitals and anus of both men and women. Women may also have warts on the cervix and in the vagina. Because these HPV types rarely cause cancer, they are called “low-risk” viruses.

Researchers are sounding the alarm bells to suggests that the findings in their new study increases cancer risk for the LGBTQ community.

The research study was funded by the National Cancer Institute found that an estimated 11.5 million men and 3.2 million women have oral HPV infections at any given time. The highest risk strain, HPV-16 and HPV-18, was found in 1.8% of men and 0.3% of women between ages 18-69, equivalent to approximately 1.7 million men and 270,000 women.