The rate of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination may be lower among female individuals with mental health issues or neurodevelopmental conditions compared with their peers, according to a recent study published by Hu et al in The Lancet Public Health.
Background
The HPV vaccine is capable of protecting against future cervical cancer. The second dose of the vaccine is given within 1 year of the first dose.
Study Methods and Results
In the recent study, investigators examined HPV vaccine uptake among 115,000 female individuals covered by the Swedish school-based HPV vaccination programme. They assessed the association between vaccination coverage and psychiatric diagnoses or the use of psychotropic drugs.
The investigators discovered that the individuals with psychiatric diagnoses had an 11% lower vaccination coverage rate on the first dose compared with those of the same age without psychiatric diagnoses. The difference was particularly pronounced among the individuals with autism or intellectual disabilities, where the vaccination coverage rate was 20% lower.
Further, the individuals who received drugs to manage mental health issues had a 7% lower vaccination coverage rate, but the data varied depending on the type of drugs they received. For instance, those receiving antipsychotic drugs had a 32% lower vaccination coverage rate compared with those of the same age who didn’t receive the drugs.
In contrast, individuals with psychiatric diagnoses or mental health issues who received the first dose of the HPV vaccine had comparable rates of vaccination coverage on the second dose of the vaccine compared with their peers. In addition, parental mental health issues did not significantly impact vaccination coverage in their daughters.
Conclusions
“Our study emphasizes the need for targeted interventions to ensure equitable health care for all children,” highlighted lead study author Kejia Hu, MSc, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet. “All girls should have equal access to life-saving vaccines, regardless of their mental health status,” she added.
“More research is needed to find out the underlying reasons why fewer [female individuals] with mental [health issues] or neuropsychiatric conditions are vaccinated against HPV so that we can tackle this challenge,” concluded co–study author Karin Sundström, MD, PhD, a senior researcher at the Center for Cervical Cancer Elimination in the Department of Clinical Science, Intervention, and Technology at Karolinska Institutet.
Disclosure: The research in this study was funded by the Swedish Cancer Society and in part by Merck. For full disclosures of the study authors, visit thelancet.com.
