Elsevier

The Lancet

Volume 363, Issue 9414, 27 March 2004, Pages 1039-1040
The Lancet

Research Letters
Male circumcision and risk of HIV-1 and other sexually transmitted infections in India

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15840-6Get rights and content

Summary

Circumcised men have a lower risk of HIV-1 infection than uncircumcised men. Laboratory findings suggest that the foreskin is enriched with HIV-1 target cells. However, some data suggest that circumcision could simply be a marker for low-risk behaviours. In a prospective study of 2298 HIV-uninfected men attending sexually transmitted infection clinics in India, we noted that circumcision was strongly protective against HIV-1 infection (adjusted relative risk 0·15; 95% CI 0·04–0·62; p=0·0089); however, we noted no protective effect against herpes simplex virus type 2, syphilis, or gonorrhoea. The specificity of this relation suggests a biological rather than behavioural explanation for the protective effect of male circumcision against HIV-1.

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