Circumcision may not protect gay men

ATLANTA, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- An analysis of studies indicates a lack of sufficient evidence that circumcision reduces the risk of HIV in men who have sex with men, U.S. researchers said.

Studies in Africa have shown that male circumcision reduces the likelihood of female-to-male transmission of HIV infection by 50 percent to 60 percent and some studies also suggest that male circumcision may protect heterosexual men against other sexually transmitted infections.

Gregorio A. Millett of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and colleagues performed a meta-analysis of 15 studies to examine the association of circumcision status with HIV infection and other STIs among men who have sex with men.

The studies, which included a total of 53,567 participants, of which 52 percent were circumcised, found the odds of being HIV-positive were nonsignificantly lower among men who have sex with men who were circumcised than uncircumcised.

In contrast, a statistically significant protective association of circumcision with HIV infection was found for men who have sex with men studies conducted prior to the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy -- known as HAART -- in 1996. Of studies conducted after HAART, the association of circumcision and HIV infection wasn't statistically significant.

The findings are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.