Young girls who receive the cervical cancer vaccine won't be more inclined to engage in sexual activity, a new study has found.
Researchers from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center found that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine doesn't affect young women's decision to have sex, nor does it make them think they're protected against all kinds of sexually transmitted infections.
According to the study's lead author, adolescent medicine practitioner Dr. Jessica Kahn, some parents are wary of letting their teenage daughters get the HPV shot, for fear that they'll be more willing to participate in sexual relations.
"Parental concerns have, in part, driven the relatively low acceptance of HPV vaccines compared to other adolescent vaccines and present a barrier to clinicians," Kahn told HealthDay.
Just one third of American girls in their teens got HPV vaccine's suggested three doses in 2012.
The shots protect viruses that cause nearly 70 percent of all cervical cancers, and roughly half of all mouth, esophagus and throat cancers, according to HealthDay.
Kahn's team of analysts spoke to at least 300 girls aged 13 to 21, inspecting dates of first dosage, sexual experiences, and how important they considered safe sex to be.
Between two and six months later, Kahn approached the sample group and asked the same questions, to find out whether the girls' perceptions about sexual activity had changed. She told HealthDay she saw no influence on the young women's sexual lives based on the HPV shots.
"Whatever they believed, those key beliefs around the need for safe sex, and whether they're protected against other sexually transmitted infections, they were not associated with riskier behaviors," Kahn stated. "We didn't find anything concerning."
The team reported 58 percent of the young women said they'd engaged in sexual activity with a man or woman. 42 percent initially said they'd never had sex before. Of the 99 girls who hadn't had sex prior the shots, 20 began engaging in sexual relations after receiving a dose of the vaccine.
Age was the strongest determining factor of sexual activity, HealthDay reported. Older girls who participated in the study were more likely to be sexually active.
