MEN : REASONS FOR CIRCUMCISION CHALLENGED IN NEW STUDY.Byline: Peter Modica Medical Tribune News Service Circumcision, a common practice in the United States, offers men little health benefit, according to a new study. It has long been believed that circumcision, in which the foreskin of the penis is removed, is more hygienic and therefore helps protect men against infections, including sexually transmitted diseases Sexually transmitted diseases Infections that are acquired and transmitted by sexual contact. Although virtually any infection may be transmitted during intimate contact, the term sexually transmitted disease is restricted to conditions that are largely (STDs). But in the study of 1,410 American men ages 18 to 59 years, circumcised and uncircumcised uncircumcised Urology Referring to a ♂ or penis which has not been circumcised. See Circumcision. men showed similar rates of STDs. ``A lot of parents are motivated by cosmetic reasons - they want their sons to be like their dads, their brothers, and to not be different in the locker room,'' said lead author Edward O. Laumann, chair of the department of sociology Noun 1. department of sociology - the academic department responsible for teaching and research in sociology sociology department academic department - a division of a school that is responsible for a given subject at the University of Chicago. Many newborn males also are circumcised for religious reasons. But although many doctors believe circumcision helps improve hygiene of the penis, thorough washing of an uncircumcised penis can be just as hygienic, said Laumann, whose findings appear Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association is an international peer-reviewed general medical journal, published 48 times per year by the American Medical Association. JAMA is the most widely circulated medical journal in the world. . Circumcision ``is not a cost-effective solution to a problem of hygiene,'' he said. Dr. Lorraine Stern, an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). in Los Angeles, agreed. ``Surgery should not be a replacement for hygiene,'' Stern said. ``Routine neonatal circumcision is, in my opinion, a ritual,'' she said, and one that is not medically necessary. But Dr. Thomas E. Wiswell, director of neonatal research at Thomas Jefferson University It began as Jefferson Medical College in 1824. On July 1, 1969 the institution officially became Thomas Jefferson University. The university is made up of three colleges:
Circumcision, for instance, helps protect against penile cancer and urinary tract infections, he said. In addition, other studies have found that circumcision does help protect a man against STDs, he said. Both the American Urological Association (AUA AUA American Urological Association, see there ) and the American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics ("AAP") is an organization of pediatricians, physicians trained to deal with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. Its motto is: "Dedicated to the Health of All Children. (AAP) have policies stating that neonatal circumcision has potential medical benefits and advantages as well as disadvantages and risks. For the first three to six months after birth, uncircumcised infants are 10 times more likely to have a urinary tract infection than circumcised babies, according to the AUA. Complications - including bleeding, penile injury and infection - occur in about 3 percent of all circumcisions. ``Newborn circumcision is a rapid and generally safe procedure when performed by an experienced operator,'' wrote the AAP Task Force on Circumcision. ``It is an elective procedure to be performed only if an infant is stable and healthy.'' The AUA and AAP advise parents to discuss the risks and benefits of the procedure with their doctors, taking into account their own ethnic, cultural, religious and individual preferences. |
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