Ignoring Evidence of Circumcision Benefits

The American public remains resolute in its support of newborn circumcision despite negative recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).¹ The great majority of males in the United States are circumcised: prevalence of circumcision is 80% to 85%² as measured by published values from Georgia, Texas, California, Colorado, Alaska, Wisconsin, and Missouri.^3–9 Circumcision prevalence not only is high but seems to be increasing.¹⁰ Between 1988 and 2000, the US newborn circumcision rate increased by 12.8%, an increase that has been attributed to “an increased recognition of the potential medical benefits of circumcision” by the general public.^10(p978) The increase in circumcisions is most apparent in mid-America states with the fewest immigrants,^6,10,11 because most immigrants, particularly Hispanics, are not circumcised. The 80% to 85% US circumcision rate observed in practice contrasts with the 55% to 65% rate reported in statistics collected from birth centers across the nation.^6,10 The explanation for this difference is that the published results of national statistical surveys represent only coded diagnoses obtained from birth centers; the reported figures do not include males who are circumcised at a later date for religious, medical, or personal reasons or who received newborn circumcision that was not coded.^5,7

The original position of the AAP was established with an erroneous …

Address correspondence to Edgar J. Schoen, MD, Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, 280 W MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94611. E-mail: edgar.schoen{at}kp.org