Male Circumcision Can Help Protect Against HPV And HIV, Studies Show

Main Category: Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine
Also Included In: HIV / AIDS;  Men's health;  Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 19 Dec 2008 - 3:00 PST

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Circumcision can protect men and their female sex partners from contracting human papillomavirus, as well as help to protect men from contracting HIV, according to three studies published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Reuters reports. The first study -- conducted by Bertran Auvert of the University of Versailles in Frances and colleagues in South Africa -- examined more than 1,200 men visiting a South African clinic. The study found that less than 15% of men who were circumcised had HPV, compared with 22% of uncircumcised men. The authors wrote, "This finding explains why women with circumcised partners are at a lower risk of cervical cancer than other women." A second study examining men in the U.S. had less definitive results but produced some evidence that circumcision might protect men from HPV, Reuters reports. The study, which was conducted by Carrie Nielson and colleagues at Oregon Health & Science University, found that circumcised men were about half as likely as uncircumcised men to have HPV. The third study, which was conducted by Lee Warner and colleagues at CDC, examined HIV among African-American men living in Baltimore. According to the study, 22% of uncircumcised men were at high risk of contracting HIV, compared with 10% of circumcised men. Previous studies in Africa had found that circumcision reduces a man's risk of contracting HIV, but U.S. studies were less clear, Reuters reports (Fox, Reuters, 12/18).

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