Male circumcision perks up women's sex life

While circumcision is already associated with reduced risk of developing a number of health problems like urinary tract infection (UTI), HIV and two other sexually transmitted infections- herpes and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), the latest findings show that male circumcision improves sex for women.

Study details
To reach their findings, researchers studied 455 female partners of circumcised men in Uganda. The research team studied the sexual satisfaction of circumcised men’s partners as part of the initial trials to test the efficacy of male circumcision.

The study women, between the ages of 15 and 49, reported their sexual satisfaction before and after their partners were circumcised.

Around 57 percent of the women reported no change in sexual satisfaction while 39 percent said sex was more satisfying post-circumcision, and mere 3 percent reported less satisfaction after their male partner’s circumcision.

According to Dr. Godfrey Kigozi, MD, of the Rakai Health Sciences Program in Kalisizo, Uganda, the handful of women who reported reduced sexual satisfaction blamed either lower levels of desire or their partner’s struggle to achieve an erection.

On the other hand, those women who reported improved sexual satisfaction said improved hygiene (cited by 51 of 177 women) and the fact that their partner took longer to achieve an orgasm (45 of the 177 women) resulting in longer sex, perked up their sex life.

Kigozi and colleagues reported their findings at the fifth annual International AIDS Society conference on pathogenesis, treatment, and prevention of HIV.

Other circumcision related findings
Kigozi’s findings come on the heels of several other studies that have determined the impact of male circumcision on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases like Herps and HPV.

Three studies by researchers in South Africa, Uganda, and Kenya between 2002 and 2006 have shown that circumcision reduced the risk of developing HIV in heterosexual men by 54 percent over a two year period.

In another study, the immune systems of circumcised HPV-infected men were three times more likely to clear HPV infections, and six times more likely to clear cancer-linked HPV strains.

About circumcision
Circumcision is the term used for surgical removal of the foreskin of the penis or prepuce. The word “circumcision” comes from the Latin word circum meaning "around" and caedere meaning "to cut" and medically means removal of the foreskin from the penis. There is a common belief that circumcised men are less likely to suffer from penile cancer, inflammation of the penis, or have many sexually transmitted diseases.

Although there are existing scientific evidences that show the medical benefits of circumcision, but the experts think that the benefits are not strong enough to recommended circumcision as a routine practice.