Pre-vaccination incidence of genital warts in 15-23-year-old women and men attending youth clinics in Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines were introduced to the market in 2006 and 2007. The present pilot study was designed to examine the incidence of genital warts in the population up to 23 y of age in the county of Stockholm before the start of mass HPV vaccination.

Methods: Data from the electronic health records of 9 youth clinics in the county of Stockholm were collected retrospectively for the y 2006-2008.

Results: In total, 49,985 patients visited the study youth clinics during 2006-2008. Of these, 1817 were denoted genital warts patients. An extrapolation of the study data was done in an attempt to estimate the annual number of genital warts cases in the full Stockholm County population aged 15-23 y. Results showed that there were approximately 1792 genital warts patients in the age group 15-23 y each year in Stockholm County. Female cases represented approximately 62% of all cases in the age group 15-23 y. The peak incidence was at around 20 y of age for females, while males had a more flattened peak incidence around 19-23 y of age.

Conclusion: This pilot study demonstrates that, compared to other reported data, genital warts are at least as common in Sweden as in other countries among 15-23 y old females and males.