AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, May 10, 2004
Staff Medical Writers

"Circumcised men have a lower risk of HIV-1 infection than uncircumcised men," scientists in the United States explained. "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 behaviors.

"In a prospective study of 2,298 HIV-uninfected men attending sexually transmitted infection clinics in India," S.J. Reynolds and colleagues working with Johns Hopkins University found that "circumcision was strongly protective against HIV-1 infection (adjusted relative risk 0.15; 95% CI 0.04-0.62; p=0.0089)," but "noted no protective effect against herpes simplex virus type 2, syphilis, or gonorrhea.

"The specificity of this relation suggests a biological rather than behavioral explanation for the protective effect of male circumcision against HIV-1," the researchers concluded.

Reynolds and coauthors published their study in Lancet (Male circumcision and risk of HIV-1 and other sexually transmitted infections in India. Lancet. 2004 Mar 27;363(9414):1039-40.

For additional information, contact R.C. Bollinger, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Ross 1150, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21205 USA.

The publisher's contact information for the journal Lancet is: Lancet Ltd., 84 Theobalds Rd., London WC1X 8RR, England.

The information in this article comes under the major subject areas of AIDS & HIV, Men's Health, Sexually Transmitted Disease and Virology.

This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.

Reference

Reynolds SJ, Shepherd ME, Risbud AR, et al., "Male circumcision and risk of HIV-1 and other sexually transmitted infections in India", Lancet. 2004 Mar 27;363(9414):1039-40

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