Being born a male means you will have a five-year shorter life expectancy than a female. Why is this, and what's being done to change this? Sadly not much if you're a young man aged 18-25. 

Newcastle Herald, August 3, 2015

Utah boys lag far behind girls in HPV vaccines

A lot more Utah boys are getting the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine than in the past, but their vaccination rate continues to lag far behind that of girls.Neither boys nor girls are being vaccinated at the national average, which is a shame, public health professionals and doctors say. "It's sad that physicians, in particular, are not really seeing it as a priority, so there are a lot of young people in Utah who are not being vaccinated," said David Cope, a family-practice physician in Bountiful.

Salt Lake Tribune, August 2, 2015

Large vaccination increases in some states offer clues to effective interventions

"The large increases in these diverse parts of the country show us it is possible to do much better at protecting our nation's youth from cancers caused by HPV infections," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, assistant surgeon general and director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. "We are missing crucial opportunities to protect the next generation from cancers caused by HPV."

Some of the promising strategies that have been effective in combination at increasing receipt of HPV vaccine include:

• Establishing links between cancer organizations and immunization organizations to emphasize HPV vaccination is cancer prevention;
• Health care provider education initiatives, including reminding doctors and nurses to take every opportunity to strongly recommend HPV vaccine, especially when they recommend the two other vaccines recommended at age 11 to 12 years (the quadrivalent  meningococcal conjugate and Tdap vaccines) and the annual flu vaccine;
• Practice-based quality improvement efforts by state and local health departments, such as assessment of a clinic's HPV vaccination coverage levels and providing feedback on how to improve coverage;
• Public communication campaigns; and,
• Reminder-recall interventions, such as using immunization information systems to send reminders to parents about vaccinations for which their child is due.

Health Canal, August 1, 2015

American Academy of Pediatrics asks payers to cover HPV9 vaccine

"The vaccine got off on the wrong foot with the public, but with physicians too because a fair number thought they would have to talk about sexual contact and they were reluctant to," said Dr. Carol Baker, executive director of the Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research at Texas Children's Hospital.

Huffington Post, July 30, 2015

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Physicians must take responsibility for improving the rate of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations among teenagers, according to Anne Schuchat, MD, assistant surgeon general and director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Medscape,, July 30, 2015

More than half of all adolescent girls in New Jersey have not received the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, among the lowest rates nationally, and even fewer boys are getting the shots that could prevent cancer-causing HPV infections, according to federal health data released Thursday. Despite proof that the vaccine works "extremely well" and is covered by most health insurance plans, many parents are hesitant to expose their children to it, squeamish about talking to sixth-graders about sexually transmitted diseases.

North Jersey, July 30, 2015

When it comes to getting the HPV vaccine to protect against cervical cancer, teens below the poverty line are doing better than the rest.

Among teenage girls ages 13 to 17 whose total family income was less than the federal poverty level for their family size, 67.2 percent have received the first dose of the human papillomavirus vaccine, compared to 57.7 percent for those at or above the poverty line. For teen boys, it's 51.6 percent compared to 39.5 percent.

NPR, July 30, 2015

New federal data shows that despite public health efforts, the number of teen boys and girls receiving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine only increased slightly in 2014. The new numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Thursday show that four out of 10 adolescent girls and six out of 10 adolescent boys have not started the HPV vaccination series. Without vaccination, young people are at a greater risk of developing HPV-related cancers down the line. Overall, 60% of girls in the age group and 42% of boys have received one or more doses of the vaccine which the CDC reports is 3% higher for girls and 8% higher for boys compared to data from 2013.

Time, July 30, 2015

Seventh-graders in all public and private schools in Rhode Island are now required to get the HPV vaccine. The Providence Journal reports that starting this fall, seventh-graders who do not get the vaccine will not be allowed to attend school unless their parents seek an exemption for medical or religious reasons. The state Public Health Department made the vaccine mandatory.

NECN, July 29, 2014

Clashing opinions surrounding a new vaccine requirement for Rhode Island middle schoolers. Starting this fall, all seventh graders must be vaccinated against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a virus that can be passed through sex. "These children are very young," explained concerned parent Yari Auger of Providence. "Extremely young to assume anything about being sexually active." Many parents are concerned the state is taking away their rights. "It's the state coming between the patient and the medical provider and saying, 'We know better for you than you know for yourself,'" Auger said. Doctors like Robert Eden of Children's Medical Group in Providence have been recommending the vaccine for years. "We haven't seen an adverse reaction to the vaccine in the thousands of vaccines we've administered," he explained. A Facebook page against this regulation has garnered the support of nearly 600 people. Parents have also started an online petition. 

ABC, July 29, 2015

A leading mental health organisation believes a major breakthrough has been made in suicide prevention among young Irish men. The development of a text helpline for people considering taking their life by Console has resulted in a massive increase in the number of people seeking help. The charity says it recorded a 49pc increase in texts in the first six months of the year with young men, in particular, accessing crisis help through their mobile devices for the first time. "Males are four times more likely to take their own lives, but up to this point, no one has been able to reach them in numbers," Console CEO Paul Kelly said.

Independent, July 29, 2015

Sex hormone levels in transgender youth are consistent with the gender they were assigned at birth, a new study finds."We've now put to rest the residual belief that transgender experience is a result of a hormone imbalance. It's not," Dr. Johanna Olson, who practices adolescent medicine at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, said in a hospital news release.

Health Day, July 27, 2015

Through an article in Forbes I saw that a new study has been published about the safety of Gardasil, a vaccine for prevention of certain strains of human papillomavirus, or HPV.

HPV is a virus that can lead to genital warts, many types of cancer, and cervical cancer in women, which kills 4,000 women every year in the U.S. alone.

The Gardasil vaccine, on the other hand, caused some people to faint after getting it, and others got mild skin infections-both of which occur somewhat rarely with other vaccines too, as you might expect.

Which sounds worse to you?

Slate, July 27, 2015

Rates of many sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are either high or on the rise among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM). These infections can pose health risks and also facilitate HIV transmission. This article explores the history of STIs among MSM, current challenges to improving the diagnosis and prevention of these infections, and potential solutions.

The Body, July 27, 2015

Shirtless Marines March in "Silkies" to Raise Suicide Awareness

A group of Marines is marching 22 kilometers, or about 13.5 miles, wearing nothing but short shorts-called "silkies"-and hauling 22 kilograms, or about 50 pounds, of gear to honor the 22 service members who commit suicide every day.

Time, July 26 2015