In a groundbreaking study that could influence the debate over sex education, researchers have found that consistent and proper use of condoms significantly reduces the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer.
University of Washington researchers reported yesterday that female college students were 70 percent less likely to become infected with human papilloma virus, or HPV, if their partners always wore a condom during sex than those whose partners used condoms less than 5 percent of the time.
Condoms have long been marketed as a barrier against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. But advocates of sexual abstinence programs have argued that they are ineffective against HPV, which can be transmitted through skin-to-skin contact even if a condom is worn.
The Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to revise the labeling of condoms after some conservatives in Congress demanded that manufacturers' claims about disease prevention be evaluated for "medical accuracy."
The new study brings solid data to the debate, experts said.
"Those who are opposed to condoms claim condoms are not very effective, particularly against HPV," said James Trussell, director of the Office of Population Research at Princeton University. "Here we have an actual study, rather than just an assertion. Condom use prevented HPV infection 70 percent of the time. That's pretty good."
But abstinence advocates noted that the study also showed that some women whose partners used condoms did become infected. Under the Bush administration, schools and other groups that accept federal funding have been required to promote abstinence until marriage and play down the effectiveness of contraception.
"I think it has no bearing on whether abstinence is the best thing to teach kids," said Peter LaBarbera of the Illinois Family Institute. "Clearly, abstinence until marriage is a healthy message ... and this study shows that even partners who always use condoms show it is not a cure-all for HPV. This is hardly a panacea."
The virus is the most common sexually transmitted disease. Approximately 20 million people in the United States have HPV and at least 50 percent of sexually active men and women will experience an infection in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
