The Role of Monogamy and Duration of Heterosexual Relationships in Human Papillomavirus Transmission

Background:  Published data are equivocal about the relative rates of male-to-female and female-to-male human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission. Our objective was to estimate genital HPV incidence among heterosexual partners from a broad age range and to investigate the effects of monogamy and relationship duration on incidence.

Methods:  HPV genotyping was conducted for heterosexual partners, aged 18-70 years, from Tampa, Florida, who provided genital exfoliated cell specimens at semiannual visits during a 2-year study. The rate of incident HPV detection was assessed for 99 couples, and transmission incidence was estimated among a subset of 65 discordant couples. We also evaluated the effect of monogamy and relationship duration on transmission incidence.

Results:  Couples were followed up for a median of 25 months and had a mean age of 33 years for both sexes. The HPV type-specific transmission incidence rate was 12.3 (95% confidence interval, 7.1-19.6) per 1000 person-months for female-to-male transmission and 7.3 (95% confidence interval, 3.5-13.5) per 1000 person-months for male-to-female transmission. Regardless of monogamy status or relationship duration, there was a similar pattern of increased incident HPV detection among men compared with women.

Conclusions:  HPV may be transmitted more often from women to men than from men to women, suggesting a need for prevention interventions, such as vaccination, for men.