Laryngeal papillomas: the epidemiology in a Danish subpopulation 1965–1984

The incidence rate of laryngeal papillomas in a Danish subpopulation (approximately 2.8 million inhabitants) was 3.84 × 10^-6 per year in the period 1968–1984. For juvenile papillomas the incidence rate was 3.62 × 10^-6, compared with 3.94 × 10^-6 for laryngeal papillomas of adult onset. When comparing different time periods a significantly low incidence was found in the time 1965–1968, while the incidence remained constant in 1969–1984. The low incidence rate in the early period may be real, but selectional bias may have played a part. It is in general anticipated that maternal genital HPV-infections may serve as an HPV-reservoir, and that juvenile laryngeal papilloma is a result of HPV transmission from the mother to the child during birth. In the period in question cervical HPV-infections have been recorded with increasing frequency in younger women, indicating that the prevalence is rising. However, this is not reflected in the incidence of laryngeal papillomas.