About 630,000 women in 2012 were diagnosed with human papillomavirus (HPV) related cancer, of whom 530,000 had cervical cancer. Vaccinations against HPV have been introduced across the globe, but their safety profile remains in question. This study evaluated the association between HPV vaccination and the subsequent adverse events.
This cohort study included a total of 441,399 girls aged 11-14 years, of whom 382,020 had received the HPV vaccine and 59,379 had not received the vaccine. The primary outcomes of the study were 33 serious adverse events, including musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, endocrine, and hematological diseases.
The findings indicated no major associations between HPV vaccination in the cohort analysis and the risk of adverse events in both vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. The only exception that was observed was an increased risk of migraine. Secondary analysis using self-controlled risk intervals also showed no relationship between HPV vaccination and serious adverse events. The results were significant for vaccine subtypes and varying follow-up periods.
The research concluded that there was no clear correlation between the HPV vaccine and serious adverse events. These results were confirmed using both cohort analysis and self-controlled risk interval analysis. However, some findings included the expectation of migraine headaches.
Ref: https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.m4931
