It has been at the center of a lot of controversies and much debate, but now a major new study has come out claiming with utter certainty that the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is not linked to as many as 44 serious chronic diseases.
The new study, which was conducted in Scandinavia and published recently in the Journal of Medicine, has been hailed by the researchers as ‘the most comprehensive study of HPV vaccination in adult women to date.’
Carried out by the Danish cancer society, Kræftens Bekæmpelse, researchers followed a group of more than 2,000 women from Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden who were given the vaccination before it was approved. The results show that it is still effective – ten to twelve years after first being administered.
The vast study included for most part adolescent women, but the cohort was also made up of women who received a ‘catch-up’ vaccine later in life, and the Scandinavian researchers examined data from more than three million Danish and Swedish women who had received the HPV vaccine.
The findings pretty much speak for themselves, with the researchers managing to establish that the much debated vaccine, which is given to teens across Europe now as part of vaccination programs, is not liked to 44 serious chronic diseases.
“This is the most comprehensive study of HPV vaccination in adult women to date,” eplains Anders Hviid, one of the study’s lead researchers.
“It is not unreasonable to expect different safety concerns in adult women compared with young girls, and our study is an important supplement to the safety studies in young girls.”
Susanne Krüger Kjær, another one of the study’s lead researchers, is extremely happy with the results. “This is the longest follow-up period we have in relation to the HPV vaccine, and these women were vaccinated around four years before the vaccine was made readily available.”
“It is also a very encouraging message to those who subsequently chose to have themselves or their children vaccinated,” she added.
Note: The Scandinavian team of researchers found that in the Danish cohort, receiving the vaccine meant the women could stand an increased risk of developing coeliac disease, but stated that there were no other serious safety concerns observed in the study.
