LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Circumcision: Risks
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Few of the studies that have evaluated the association between UTI in male infants and circumcision status have looked at potential confounders (such as prematurity, breastfeeding, and method of urine collection) in a rigorous way. For example, because premature infants appear to be at increased risk for UTI,75-77 the inclusion of hospitalized premature infants in a study population may act as a confounder by suggesting an increased risk of UTI in uncircumcised infants. Premature infants usually are not circumcised because of their fragile health status.78
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Curing masturbation was historically the most common indication for circumcision. For many years, both laypeople and medical practitioners have speculated that circumcision reduces the risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), particularly ulcerative diseases of the penis (eg, syphilis). Recent reports in the medical literature support a protective effect of circumcision (at various levels) against urinary tract infections (UTIs), some STDs (including HIV infection), cervical cancer, and penile cancer.
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In the past, circumcision has been suggested as a way to prevent penile cancer. This suggestion was based on studies that reported much lower penile cancer rates among circumcised men than among non-circumcised men. However, most researchers now believe those studies were flawed because they failed to consider other factors that are now known to affect penile cancer risk. (2005, [72])
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Two recent trials performed in Africa lend creditability to those who argue in favor of circumcision for health reasons. Researchers found that circumcised men were significantly less likely to develop HIV infection compared to uncircumcised men. While this finding has less relevance in the US, where most men are already circumcised and the risk of HIV is far lower, it is still important to consider that circumcision can apparently reduce the risk of HIV transmission.
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However, the penile cancer risk is low in some non-circumcised populations, and the practice of circumcision is strongly associated with socio-ethnic factors, which in turn are associated with lessened risk. The consensus among studies that have taken these other factors into account is circumcision is not of value in preventing cancer of the penis. (1998, [70])
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Infection — Studies suggest that circumcision helps decrease the risk of acquiring some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), such as syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes simplex, and HIV. It is important to note... that many circumcised men acquire these diseases. Circumcision may lower the risk of acquiring a STD, but it does not eliminate it.
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