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Consistent condom use was "strongly associated" with lower human papillomavirus prevalence among men in a new study. Research into whether condom use helps lower HPV risk has yielded conflicting results. HPV is easily transmitted, including via any genital-to-genital contact, and some studies in which men have been tested for HPV in areas not protected by condoms have failed to demonstrate that condoms lower infection risk.
A team led by Carrie M. Nielson of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland studied 463 men ages 18-40, testing for 37 of the more than 100 known HPV strains. The researchers swabbed samples from the penis, as well as from areas not protected by condoms (the scrotum, perineum, and anus).
The men were surveyed about their sexual history, including frequency of condom use in the previous three months. Ninety men reported "always" using condoms, compared to 154 who said they "never" did; the remainder reported inconsistent condom use.
Consistent condom users were less likely to test positive for HPV: 38 percent had HPV at one of the body sites tested, compared with 54 percent of men who never used condoms. Less than 17 percent of consistent condom users tested positive for a cancer-linked strain, versus 36 percent of men who never used condoms.
The researchers found condoms appeared to be protective among men who reported more than one partner in the past three months, but not among those who said they were monogamous. Among men with more than one partner, consistent condom users were 78 percent less likely to test HPV-positive than those who never or infrequently used condoms.
However, Nielson and her colleagues noted, if the men who reported consistent condom use were accurate, that means a "substantial" proportion of them nonetheless acquired HPV. Thus, while condoms may reduce a man's risk of infection, they do not eliminate it.
The study, "Consistent Condom Use Is Associated with Lower Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus Infection in Men," was published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases (2010;202(3):445-451).
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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