Health scare of the week: New HPV fears
Rates of throat cancer caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) have tripled over the past 20 years.
The mouths of one in 15 Americans are infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV), a new study says, and rates of throat cancer caused by the disease have tripled over the past 20 years. Researchers tested nearly 6,000 men and women ages 14 to 69 for HPV and asked them to describe their health habits and sexual histories. Surprisingly, they found that men were three times more likely than women to have oral HPV—which may explain why they’re also three times more likely to develop head and neck cancer. The odds of becoming infected with HPV of the mouth also increased with age and with the number of sexual partners people had had in their lifetimes; smoking heightened the risk as well. HPV infects the mouth predominantly through oral sex, but many people, especially teens, don’t “make the link between oral sex and STDs” and fail to use protection, Fred Wyand, an HPV expert at the American Social Health Association, tells the Los Angeles Times. And many parents consider the HPV vaccine irrelevant to their children, says Hans Schlecht of Drexel University College of Medicine. “People are not comfortable talking about” oral sex, he says, even if the conversation could prevent cancer.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Republicans want to silence Israel's opponents'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - priority delivery, USPS on fire, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Why the Y chromosome is vanishing and what this means for the future
The Explainer A new sex gene could be on the evolution pipeline
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
14 recent scientific breakthroughs
In Depth From photos of the infant universe to an energy advancement that could save the planet
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Antimatter isn't immune to gravity, landmark experiment confirms
Speed Read Antimatter is the mysterious evil twin of matter, but new research proves they do have something fundamental in common
By Peter Weber Published
-
'Inverse vaccine' shows promise treating MS, other autoimmune diseases
New research effectively cured mice of multiple sclerosis–type symptoms. Could this work in humans?
By Peter Weber Published
-
Air pollution is now the 'greatest external threat' to life expectancy
Speed Read Climate change is worsening air quality globally, and there could be deadly consequences
By Devika Rao Published
-
How Antarctica has become the enduring climate change bellwether
The Explainer Despite its remote location, the southernmost continent is stricken with climate change issues
By Justin Klawans Published
-
NASA fully restores contact with Voyager 2 spacecraft
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Extremely dangerous heat wave' to scorch parts of US
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published