Study Finds Circumcision Does Not Protect Gay Men [View All]

Nation Digest
Study Finds Circumcision Does Not Protect Gay Men

Circumcision does not help protect gay men from the virus that causes AIDS, according to the largest U.S. study to look at the issue.

UNAIDS and other international health organizations promote circumcision as an important strategy for reducing the spread of HIV, particularly in Africa. There has not been the same kind of push for circumcision in the United States.

For one thing, nearly 80 percent of American men are already circumcised -- a much higher proportion than in most other countries. Worldwide, the male circumcision rate is estimated at about 30 percent.

Also, although HIV spreads primarily through heterosexual sex in Africa and some other parts of the world, in the United States it has mainly infected gay men. About 4 percent of U.S. men are gay, according to preliminary CDC estimates released at a conference this week. They account for more than half of the new HIV infections each year.