Hey there. I heard the other day that being circumsized can help prevent HIV/AIDS and other STI's Is this true or an urban myth? -Mama-
There were some studies done to attempt to determine why HIV is so rampant in Africa. One of the theories was that HIV infection might be related to the fact that most of the heterosexual men in Africa are not circumcised. The studies do indicate that there may be a higher rate of infection in uncircumcised men. But the risk is sexual activity- not the fact that they were uncircumcised. The presence of a foreskin is only a co-factor. If the men refrained from sexual activity or used condoms, their risk is significantly lower whether or not they were circumcised.
It's a myth, though there are some things that can develop(bacteria, not viruses) if you're not clean.
Believe it or not - it's not a myth! The studies do support a lower incidence of HIV transmission in circumcised men! http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/circumcision.htm Three randomized controlled clinical trials were conducted in Africa to determine whether circumcision of adult males will reduce their risk for HIV infection. The study conducted in South Africa [9] was stopped in 2005, and those in Kenya [10] and Uganda [11] were stopped in 2006 after interim analyses found a statistically significant reduction in male participants’ risk for HIV infection from medical circumcision.
hmm never knew.. i guess one less worry glad i was cut when i was little, i hear its painful when you are older
Well, there's a couple of other factors. The variety of HIV virus in Africa is a different strain that what is most commonly found in the US and Europe. And while this study talks about HIV, there's plenty of other stuff out there to worry about. So, the rules stay the same- use condoms and chose your partners wisely.
There were confounding factors in these studies, however: Those who were circumcised received counseling in addition to the circumcision and those who were not did not, and while there was some protection afforded by the circumcision, it simply reduced the risk and certainly did not eliminate it. Another recent study reported in the New York Times showed that the female partners of those who were circumcised were MORE likely to contract AIDS that were the partners of the uncircumcised (I have not seen the report of this anywhere else).
but if there are lets say 200 men and 50 of them are circumsized and between these men there are 30 cases of hiv wouldn't it stand to reason that being circumsized is not a determining factor. Its just statistics.. right?
The studies in Africa are pretty consistent. One article that I read looked at 18 different studies. But these studies are limited to a specific population of heterosexual men in southern Africa, so you cannot really take the conclusion and apply it to everyone.
