Having Sex at a very Young Age and With Multiple Partners Increases Risk of Cervical Cancer: Experts
Having sex from an early age and with multiple partners maybe responsible for the high incidence of cervical cancer among Shanghai women, say health experts.
Researchers from the School of Public Health of Fudan University found a large number of Chinese women aged between 15 and 24 years were infected with human papillomavirus or HPV that leads to cervical cancer. Shi Huijing, associate professor from Fudan University said this was because they became sexually active at a very young age and had more number of partners, reports the Shanghai Daily.
According to data by the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 percent of the women with the disease are aged below 35 years compared to less than 2 percent in 1970. Every year more than 100,000 new cervical cancer cases are recorded in China, which is 25 percent of the global disease incidence.
Almost 85 percent of the cervical cancer cases and deaths occur in Western countries and are mainly linked to HPV viruses. But the experts from the current study believe this infection alone does not contribute to the development of cervical cancer and are largely influenced by smoking habits, vitamin deficiency, and exposure to bacteria, immunity and hormones.
They added the diseases prevalence can be curbed by limiting sexual relations with one steady partner and recommend compulsory HPV vaccination for all girls aged about 12 to 14 years including those not sexually active. Majority of people in China are uninformed about the HPV infections, screening for disease advancement that results in cancer in vulva, vagina, penis, anus, throat, tongue and tonsils.
Prof Huijing recently launched a cervical cancer awareness program that will last for five years and aims to raise awareness in 14 cities about the disease including Shanghai and Beijing.
The awareness program also warns against sharing of sex-toys and devices that pick up fungi, bacteria and cause sexually transmitted infections in partners when inserted in intimate areas to prevent diseases in young population.
© MD News Daily.