The study analysed Swedish national health registry data from over 800,000 unvaccinated women born between 1985 and 2000.
The study compared rates of pre-cancerous changes in the cervix across birth cohorts exposed to different HPV vaccination strategies in Sweden: opportunistic vaccination (1985-1988), subsidised programmes (1989-1992), catch-up programmes (1993-1998), and school-based vaccination (1999-2000).
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The study found that unvaccinated women born in 1999 and 2000 in Sweden, who grew up alongside peers vaccinated through a school-based programme, had about half the risk of developing serious precancerous changes in the cervix compared with unvaccinated women born between 1985 and 1988, when vaccination uptake was lower and only given to women who sought it out.
However, the team noted that as an observational study, the findings may be affected by other factors, such as differences between birth cohorts in sexual behaviour, cervical screening participation, testing practices, and access to healthcare.
Yet, from a policy and implementation perspective, these results advocate for sustained efforts in universal vaccination initiatives, particularly those targeting school-aged populations, to maximise the benefits, the researchers said.
This report is from IANS news service. NewsGram holds no responsibility for its content.
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