Original articleCircumcision and Risk of Sexually Transmitted Infections in a Birth Cohort
Section snippets
Methods
We studied subjects in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a longitudinal study of a cohort born in Dunedin, New Zealand, between Apr 1, 1972, and Mar 31, 1973. The sample was first followed up at 3 years of age when 1037 (535 male) of 1139 eligible children were seen.13 Subsequently they were assessed biannually until the age of 15 years, then at 18, 21, and 26 years and most recently at 32 years in 2004 to 2005. Wherever possible, those no longer living in Dunedin
Results
Of the original 535 male cohort members seen at age 3 years, 477 (90.7% of survivors) completed the age 21-year assessment of sexual behavior; 490 (93.3% of survivors) completed the age 26-year assessment; and 487 (93.1% of survivors) completed the age 32-year assessment. Overall, 499 men who were sexually experienced and for whom early circumcision information was available attended at least 1 of these assessments.
Of these 499 men, 201 (40.3%) had been circumcised by age 3 years. There were no
Discussion
The main finding of this study is that in this New Zealand birth cohort we found no evidence to support the hypothesis that circumcision has a major protective effect against the STIs commonly experienced there.
Socioeconomic characteristics of the circumcised men and uncircumcised men were similar. Examination of sexual behavior showed that the circumcised men had slightly lower risk behavior—a lower annual number of sexual partners overall up to age 32 years and less same-sex contact up to age
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Cited by (0)
Supported by the Health Research Council of New Zealand.
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Dr Nigel Dickson wrote the first draft of the manuscript and received no honorarium, grant, or other form of payment to produce the manuscript.