Could circumcision reduce STD spread?
March 30, 2009 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
One of the most hotly debated issues when it comes to children is if boys should be circumcised. Unless you do it for religious reasons, the issue can start an argument 
in no time at all. There are vehement arguments for both sides of the issue and the problem is, it doesn’t seem like anyone is right or wrong because both sides can find studies to back up their beliefs.
A new study out has weighed in on the benefits of circumcision – the potential that it can help prevent the spread of the human papillomavirus (HPV). A few forms of HPV are responsible for a significant number of cervical cancer cases, as well as genital warts.
According to an article over at WebMD , the risk of circumcised men contracting genital wards dropped by 25% and contracting HPV by 35%. The article also points out that women who only have one partner and he is circumcised, have a lower chance of developing cervical cancer, according to earlier studies.
Just some fuel to add to the circumcision debate. Now, to find something on breastfeeding…
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Image: iStock
In case you think “it can’t happen here”, this is the very next story in Newstin.
http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2009/03/30/botched_circumcision_suit.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13
The researchers got 5534 Ugandan men, removed those who already had the herpes virus, leaving 3393 (so herpes is very prevalent there), and circumcised half. After two years, 114 circumcised men and 153 non-circumcised men had HSV-2, so nearly 1700 circumcisions may have delayed (not prevented) 39 cases, or about 40 circumcisions to delay one case. The number is bigger where herpes is not so prevalent. But “percentage reduction” sounds much more impressive. It’s a big jump from paid adult Ugandan volunteers to US babies.
No direct connection between circumcision and cervical cancer has ever been demonstrated, only some shonky connections between circumcision and HPV, and a partial connection between some varieties of HPV and cancer. The “earier studies” took almost all their circumcised men from the Philippines or the US, almost all their non-circumcised men from other countries, so differences between the rates in the different countries could easily be responsible.