The National Board of Health and Welfare has changed its regulations on how often women must be called for gynecological pap smears.
In the future, women between the ages of 23 and 50 will be called up every five years, instead of three years apart as is currently the case.
Better at analyzing
Women between the ages of 50 and 70 must wait seven years between their pap smears.
A change that is possible thanks to healthcare becoming better at analyzing for human papillomavirus, HPV, which is the virus that causes almost all cervical cancer.
- Studies and research show that if you do not have any HPV virus, it is safe to wait at least five years before taking the next pap smear in order not to miss the development of cell changes or cervical cancer, says Sara Knip, who is process manager for gynecological pap smear control in Region Västerbotten .
New care program
Starting this summer, everyone from the age of 23 is tested for the HPV virus in Region Västerbotten, which was not done before.
They are also about to implement a new care program where they analyze cell samples for several different types of HPV virus, which are divided into low, medium and high risk.
- A lot has happened with the HPV analyzes in recent years, they now place a lot of importance on them.
This means that you will be able to distinguish more between those who are at risk of cell changes and those who are not, says Sara Knip.