Circumcised men no less likely to get sex diseases (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Circumcision does not appear toshield men from the types of sexually transmitted diseases(STDs) common in the developed world, according to new researchfrom New Zealand.

While there is "compelling evidence" that circumcisionprotects men from contracting HIV through sex with women, it isunclear whether circumcised men are at lower risk of othertypes of STDs, Dr. Nigel P. Dickson and colleagues note intheir report in the Journal of Pediatrics.

To investigate, the researchers, at the University of Otagoin Dunedin, followed 499 men born in 1972 and 1973 up to age32. About 40 percent of the men had been circumcised in earlychildhood.

Among circumcised men, 23.4 percent reported having had anytype of STD by age 32, compared to 23.5 percent of theuncircumcised men.

The most common STDs reported were genital warts, Chlamydiaand genital herpes. There was no statistically significantdifference in rates of STDs even after the researchers adjustedfor sexual behavior and socioeconomic factors.

Another recent study from New Zealand found thatcircumcision appeared to halve the rate of STDs among men up toage 25, Dickson and his colleagues note. However, they add,that study was done in a smaller group of individuals with alower rate of STDs than that reported in the current study,while fewer men in that group had been circumcised.

"Although the reason for the different findings in the 2cohorts is unclear, when our findings are considered in thecontext of other recent population-based studies in developedcountries, it appears unlikely that circumcision has a majorprotective effect against common sexually transmittedinfections in these populations, although a small effect cannotbe ruled out," the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of Pediatrics, March 2008.