Male circumcision reduces HPV risk

Male circumcision is protective against human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in men and their female partners, a systematic review and meta-analysis has found. The review, which was published in Clinical Microbiology and Infection, included 32 studies published between 2002 and 2022 and showed that 21 studies found a protective association between male circumcision and HPV prevalence in men, nine found a protective association with HPV incidence in men, and seven found an association between circumcision and HPV infection clearance in men. In the studies that included women, circumcision among male partners significantly reduced the risk of high-risk HPV infection prevalence and incidence in women (News Medical, 10 April 2023).