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Archived Medical Advances |
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Circumcision reduces chlamydia transmission |
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Circumcised men are
less likely to transmit Chlamydia trachomatis
infections to their female sexual partners as compared to
uncircumcised men.
The most common bacterial cause of
sexually transmitted infections, C. trachomatis can
cause severe reproductive complications in women and is
associated with increased risk of cervical cancer.
The
relationship between male circumcision and C.
trachomatis infection in the female partner has not been
explored earlier. Spanish researchers from the Institut Catala
d'Oncologia in Barcelona therefore evaluated this relationship
among 300 female subjects and their male partners enrolled in
studies in Colombia, Spain, Brazil, Thailand and the
Philippines. Blood samples from the women were tested for
C. trachomatis.
The overall prevalence of
circumcision was 37 percent among the men, ranging from 1.8
percent in Spain to 92 percent in the Philippines. Women whose
partners were circumcised were significantly less likely to be
infected with C. trachomatis. This was true across all
five countries.
There was no association between
circumcision and C. trachomatis detection among younger
women and women with a history of consistent condom
use.
The researchers speculate that a penis with
retained foreskin is perhaps more likely to retain infection
for a longer duration than a penis with no foreskin,
subsequently increasing the likelihood of infection to the
penile urethra and transmission to the vagina during
intercourse.
American Journal of
Epidemiology,
November 2005
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| 03 November,
2005 |
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HIV/AIDS
