What Increases Your Risk

Factors that increase the risk of becoming infected with a sexually transmitted disease, such as HPV and genital warts, include:

• Having multiple sex partners.
• Having high-risk partner(s) (partner has multiple sex partners or HPV-infected sex partners).
• Having unprotected sexual contact (not using condoms).
• Having an impaired immune system.

If you have a high-risk type of HPV and are using birth control pills for more than 5 years, research suggests that this can increase your risk of getting cervical cancer.³ More research is needed, but for more information, see the topic Cervical Cancer.