According to a study published Wednesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association, about 7 percent of American adults carry oral HPV infection, and prevalence is higher among men than women.

Dr. Maura Gillison of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that included men and women 14-69 years old who were examined at mobile centers from 2009-2010.

"Our results have important research as well as public health implications,” Gillison said. “Natural history studies of cervical HPV infection were essential for the development of public health interventions. Natural history studies of oral HPV infection are therefore necessary to understand the effects of age, sex, and modifiable risk factors (e.g., smoking and sexual behavior) on the incidence and duration of oral HPV infection."

The results were presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium.