Study: male circumcision does not lower HIV for women

[carriebft]

http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/863ED...0685E5D140.asp

The investigators then performed a number of statistical analyses. In their first unadjusted model, they found that the risk of HIV infection was reduced for women with circumcised partners compared to women whose partners were uncircumcised (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.48 – 0.99). This difference was of border-line statistical significance (p = 0.06).

But the protective effect of having a circumcised partner weakened when the investigators adjusted their model to include age, age at sexual debut, contraceptive use, husband’s employment status, level of education, and number of sexual partners in the previous three months (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.53 – 1.14, p value not provided). Further adjustment, taking into account population subgroups, meant that the protective effect of circumcision disappeared entirely (HR, 1.03, 95% CI, 0.69 – 1.53).

[Papai]

I'm not surprised.

Did you see this part?

Consistent with the baseline findings, women partnered with circumcised partners had higher levels of sexual risk during follow-up, being more likely than women with uncircumcised partners to self-report a sexually transmitted infection (6% versus 4%, p < 0.001), have symptoms of a sexually transmitted infection (26% versus 20%, p < 0.001), and to have a risky sexual partner (a man with symptoms of a sexually transmitted infection, or who was HIV-positive; 23% versus 14%, p < 0.001). Women with circumcised partners also had a lower mean number of protected sex acts (8.6 versus 8.3 per month, p < 0.001).

So how long before we see headlines that say "WOMEN PARTNERED WITH CIRCUMCISED MEN MORE LIKELY TO HAVE STIs" :

Probably never.

[gcgirl]

Well, duh. They needed a study for this? Women are more susceptible than men to begin with, so if circumcising men makes them confident they can have sex without condoms, more women are going to get infected.

[Papai]

Originally Posted by gcgirl

Well, duh. They needed a study for this? Women are more susceptible than men to begin with, so if circumcising men makes them confident they can have sex without condoms, more women are going to get infected.

Stop it big bad wolf, you'll blow down their straw house.