Anal HPV - Not Just for Gay Men

There have been a lot of stories about the risks of anal sex in the news lately, but some anal STDs may not even require anal intercourse. A recent report from the Hawaii HPV cohort study found that most women with cervical HPV infections will also end up with an anal infection with that same type of HPV - even if they are not reporting that they've had anal sex. Women who initially have anal infections with HPV also frequently end up with cervical infections, but at a somewhat lower rate. Although anal sex is certainly under-reported, the sheer numbers involved suggest that something else is also going on - that HPV is being transmitted by infected secretions, for example, or that the virus is migrating within the body.

All that having been said, it should be no surprise to learn that women aren't the only individuals at risk of anal cancer and who can potentially benefit from anal Pap smears. Although gay and bisexual men are more heavily at risk for rectal HPV infections than their heterosexual counterparts, it turns that anal HPV is also relatively common in heterosexual men. A study published in a recent issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases found that 12 percent of the men in their study who primarily have sex with women were infected with anal HPV. It is worth noting that that number may be slightly high, because of peculiarity in the study design. Although all of the included men had been sexual exclusively with women in the previous 3 months, some had had sexual experiences with men in the more distant past, and those men were at higher risk of being diagnosed with anal HPV.

• Why it is important to have safe anal sex.
• Understanding anal STD testing
• HPV 101
• What is an anal Pap smears?
• HPV in Men