Academic Activities
ABOUT
ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES
Study Presented on Cervical Cancer Screening and HPV Vaccination Among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Adults in Korea
페이지 정보
작성일Date 2026-09-18
본문
A multicenter KITE (Korean Initiative for Transgender Health) study involving Professors Kuylhee Kim and Prisca Nahyun Hwang of the Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital LGBTQ+ Center was published in the international journal BMC Public Health. Professor Kuylhee Kim participated as the corresponding author.
The study analyzed cervical cancer screening and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among 302 transgender and gender-diverse adults assigned female at birth who had received gender-affirming hormone treatment or surgery at eight medical institutions in Korea.
Among 295 participants aged 20 or older, the eligible age for Korea's national cervical cancer screening program, only 17.6% had undergone screening within the previous two years. After adjusting for differences in age, this was approximately 29% of the screening rate in the general population. The proportion that had received at least one dose of an HPV vaccine was also low, at 25.5%.
By contrast, the HPV vaccination rate among participants aged 18–20 who were eligible for support through the National Immunization Program was 69.2%, similar to the rate among cisgender women of the same age. This demonstrates that health disparities can be reduced when public access to vaccination is guaranteed regardless of gender identity.
Current cervical cancer screening notifications in Korea are based primarily on legal sex. As a result, people who have changed their legal sex to male but retain a cervix may be omitted from the national screening system. Outdated assumptions connecting cervical cancer risk only with heterosexual intercourse among cisgender women may also interfere with appropriate screening and vaccination.
The researchers emphasized that preventive healthcare should be provided based on anatomical characteristics and individual health needs rather than legal sex. Systems and healthcare environments must be improved so that everyone with a cervix receives screening information and has equitable access to HPV vaccination, regardless of gender identity or legal sex.
Paper title: Cervical Cancer Screening and HPV Vaccination Among Assigned Female at Birth Transgender and Gender-Diverse Individuals in South Korea: Findings from the KITE Cohort
Journal: BMC Public Health, 2026
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-026-28224-0
Attachment: s12889-026-28224-0_reference.pdf
The study analyzed cervical cancer screening and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among 302 transgender and gender-diverse adults assigned female at birth who had received gender-affirming hormone treatment or surgery at eight medical institutions in Korea.
Among 295 participants aged 20 or older, the eligible age for Korea's national cervical cancer screening program, only 17.6% had undergone screening within the previous two years. After adjusting for differences in age, this was approximately 29% of the screening rate in the general population. The proportion that had received at least one dose of an HPV vaccine was also low, at 25.5%.
By contrast, the HPV vaccination rate among participants aged 18–20 who were eligible for support through the National Immunization Program was 69.2%, similar to the rate among cisgender women of the same age. This demonstrates that health disparities can be reduced when public access to vaccination is guaranteed regardless of gender identity.
Current cervical cancer screening notifications in Korea are based primarily on legal sex. As a result, people who have changed their legal sex to male but retain a cervix may be omitted from the national screening system. Outdated assumptions connecting cervical cancer risk only with heterosexual intercourse among cisgender women may also interfere with appropriate screening and vaccination.
The researchers emphasized that preventive healthcare should be provided based on anatomical characteristics and individual health needs rather than legal sex. Systems and healthcare environments must be improved so that everyone with a cervix receives screening information and has equitable access to HPV vaccination, regardless of gender identity or legal sex.
Paper title: Cervical Cancer Screening and HPV Vaccination Among Assigned Female at Birth Transgender and Gender-Diverse Individuals in South Korea: Findings from the KITE Cohort
Journal: BMC Public Health, 2026
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-026-28224-0
Attachment: s12889-026-28224-0_reference.pdf
첨부파일
- s12889-026-28224-0_reference 1.pdf (788.2K) 0회 다운로드 | DATE : 2026-09-18 15:14:57
