Changing HPV vaccination rates in bisexual and lesbian women

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates continue to be below national targets for women and lower in some sexual minorities. HPV is a primary causal agent in cervical cancer, from which members of the lesbian and bisexual community mistakenly believe they are at low risk. This study characterized rates of HPV vaccination in women based on their sexual orientation.

Data were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health Interview Survey 2013-2014. This survey evaluated 5695 women-113 (2%) lesbian, 135 (2.4%) bisexual, and 5446 (95.6%) heterosexual women ages 18-26 in 2006-using logistic regression. A dependent variable of having had HPV vaccination and independent variable of sexual orientation was used.

Significant differences were found in vaccine uptake based on sexual orientation. Bisexual women were most likely to be vaccinated, and differed significantly from heterosexual and lesbians which did not differ significantly from each other. The results suggest improvement in sexual minority rates but this finding is tempered by the low rates of vaccination in adult women.

The low vaccination rates in adult women and sexual minorities merit further study. The low rates may be a function of the transition from pediatric to adult care and/or practice barriers perceived by sexual minorities.