A new study seems to confirm earlier findings that circumcision may offer men protection against some sexually transmitted diseases. The research is far from clear, though, and will likely not clear up any of the confusion facing parents deciding whether or not to circumcize their newborn sons (once performed at rates approaching 90% in the United States, routine infant circumsicion is hitting all-time lows, with something like half of all boys born in the Western US avoiding the procedure).
The study, published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, did not look at infant circumcision in the United States. Doctors followed a group of 3,000 uncircumcized Ugandan men, none of whom were infected with herpes (specifically HSV2, the strain that causes genital lesions). Half were immediately circumsized, while men in the other group underwent the procedure two years later. At the end of the survey, according to the New York Times, "the
researchers estimated that circumcised men had a 25 percent reduced
risk of infection." A smaller subgroup was also evaluated for HPV, the human papilloma virus that causes genital warts and is a leading cause of cervical cancer in women. In that group, the risk for circumsized men was calculated to be 35% lower.
Critics will doubtless point out that studies of adult men in Africa may not signify equivalent results when looking at children born and raised in the United States. And the trend for the past decade or so has seen a rise in advocacy groups who argue that the procedure is an unnecessary surgery that may be harmful to a baby boy's future sexual life. Partly as a result of this movement, fewer doctors push for the procedure, and now Medicaid does not cover it in 16 states. If studies like this do turn out to apply across the board, then perhaps that pendulum will swing the other way. For parents expecting a baby boy, the decision will always be a tough one; here's hoping that some scientific consensus will emerge to help guide the way.
More by this author:
Late-Term Abortion Provider on Trial in Kansas
Boomer Grandmothers: Out Of Control?
Move Over, Booties! Here Come Knitted Boobies
Think Your Baby's Car Seat Is Safe? Think Again
Parents Forgo Circumcision to Save Money
