Quote:
Originally Posted by filtherton
In the interests of teasing a thread jack, it should be pointed out that there are multiple studies, including randomized trials, that support the idea that, at least on a population scale, circumcised men are less likely to get HIV.
Though it should be noted that these studies were carried out in populations with a much greater prevalence of HIV than the U.S. and so the "protection" seen in circumcised men might not amount to much over here.
Given the fact that circumcision doesn't really offer that much protection from HIV, and also that there doesn't seem to be a lot of evidence that circumcision affects transmission rates of other STDs (I'm just assuming here, sue me), using circumcision as part of a personal plan for avoiding STDs while having unprotected sex seems like a bad idea.
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As far as I'm aware, the studies have been done in sub-Saharan Africa mainly, where circumcision is not randomly applied, but is regional or cultural - therefore it is not possible to be certain that (for example) the group in which uncut men are more common is also more generally promiscuous. I don't know if this is tested, but until it is, it's dangerous to draw conclusions.