Circumcision reduces chlamydia transmission

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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