Human Papillomavirus Type 16 (University of Washington National STD Curriculum)

We’ve all heard about human papillomavirus (HPV). But there’s one instance where HPV affects more men than women.

According to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, oral HPV occurs much more often in men than women. The study examined data pulled from the “National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2011 to 2014,” and found that 1 out of every 9 men have oral HPV. This translates to 11M men in the U.S.

Oral HPV is much more rare for women: The study discovered that only 3.2% of women had the infection. This percentage translates to 3.2M women. (By comparison, cervical cancer affects 12.8M+ of women.)

38K+ new cases of cancers related to HPV were diagnosed between 2008-2012. These cancers were diagnosed in 59% of men and 41% of women.