HIV 06: van Howe

Date: Thu, 12 Oct 1995 15:37:32 -0500

Sorry about any confusion I caused. There may be 22-23 studies which have looked at a possible link between circumcision and HIV infection. de Vincenzi's study is a must read, but as she and Mertens point out only a handful of the studies show a correlation between the foreskin and HIV infections. The vast majority show no statistically significant difference and and a handful of studies show a correlation between being circumcised and developing HIV. The problem is that two of the studies received a lot of press, in spite of serious methodological flaws, because they were published in Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine.

If you look at the authors of the studies out of Africa which show a correlation between the prepuce and HIV the same names (Plummer, Moses, Ronald, etc.) appear over and over. These men are now calling for routine circumcision in Canada and the US to prevent HIV infections...

I recommend everyone find a copy of de Vincenzi and Mertens article and read it. It's very technical but very useful.

Bob Van Howe

The Circumcision Information and Resource Pages are a not-for-profit educational resource and library. IntactiWiki hosts this website but is not responsible for the content of this site. CIRP makes documents available without charge, for informational purposes only. The contents of this site are not intended to replace the professional medical or legal advice of a licensed practitioner.