Questions and Answers Regarding the New England Journal of Medicine article on HPV Infection
February 12, 1998

How was this study conducted?

The study looked at 608 female students over a three-year period, beginning in 1992; this sample group represents approximately 3 percent of the entire female student population at Rutgers. It should be noted that the study's principal investigator at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Robert Burk, chose to use a sample of women from Rutgers because of the university's superior student health care services. Dr. Burk has noted that this study's results reflect the findings of similar studies conducted elsewhere. The volunteer participants were young women who were recruited through a campuswide ad campaign. All volunteered for the study and gave their consent. The women were given a pelvic exam and a baseline Pap smear, then given annual Pap smears for the rest of the study's duration. The participants were also asked to complete a questionnaire every six months concerning lifestyle and sexual behavior.

What did the study find?

The study showed that, initially, 26 percent of the participants were already positive for HPV at the time of recruitment; over the course of the next 36 months, an additional 43 percent of new cases were found among the participants. The study also found that 12 months after an initial infection took place, the infection disappeared in 70 percent of the women. Overall, 60 percent of the women tested were infected with HPV at some point during the three-year period of the study, but not necessarily at the same time. This does not mean that 60 percent of women at Rutgers currently have HPV.

What is the university doing to educate students about HPV?

The university's clinicians and health education staff regularly do presentations to students about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HPV, safe-sex practices and provide students with literature not only about HPV but all STDs. The staff of the health service routinely encourages young women to receive annual gynecological care, and provides information on disease prevention and good health care practices. Students who have genital warts can be treated at one of the university's health centers. Women who receive abnormal results from a Pap smear taken at one of the student health centers are asked to have follow up Pap smears to determine whether the changes persist or progress. Dr. Richard Piech, supervising physician for Rutgers' student health centers, stresses that Rutgers' participation in this study is indicative of the university's goal to advance medical knowledge and to prevent future serious health problems.

What is human papillomavirus?

Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. Its prevalence in young women ranges from 20 percent to 46 percent in various countries. Generally no other symptoms are present. However, in some cases genital warts are present. It is commonly spread through sexual contact and associated skin-to-skin exposure. Both men and women can be infected. Although it can be treated in various ways, it usually disappears on its own. The average duration appears to be about 8 months. In women in whom the virus persists, the virus can cause changes in the cervix which are first detected by an abnormal Pap smear. If untreated, the persistence of the virus can lead to precancerous and cancerous conditions of the cervix. The study's authors suggested that clinicians who treat adolescent girls and young women should consider that HPV infection is short-lived and could be the cause of abnormal Pap smears.

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