Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
10.1542/peds.2012-2896
Title: | Cultural bias in the AAP's 2012 Technical Report and Policy Statement on male circumcision |
Authors: | Frisch, Morten Aigrain, Yves Barauskas, Vidmantas Bjarnason, Ragnar Boddy, Su Anna Czauderna, Piotr De Gier, Robert P.E. De Jong, Tom P.V.M. Fasching, Günter Fetter, Willem Gahr, Manfred Graugaard, Christian Greisen, Gorm Gunnarsdottir, Anna Hartmann, Wolfram Havranek, Petr Hitchcock, Rowena Huddart, Simon Janson, Staffan Jaszczak, Poul Kupferschmid, Christoph Lahdes-Vasama, Tuija Lindahl, Harry MacDonald, Noni Markestad, Trond Märtson, Matis Nordhov, Solveig Marianne Pälve, Heikki Pētersons, Aigars Quinn, Feargal Qvist, Niels Rosmundsson, Thrainn Saxen, Harri Söder, Olle Stehr, Maximilian Von Loewenich, Volker C.H. Wallander, Johan Wijnen, Rene |
Keywords: | AIDS;HIV infection;Male circumcision;Penile carcinoma;Sexually transmitted disease;Urinary tract infection;3.2 Clinical medicine;1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database;Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health;SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being |
Issue Date: | Apr-2013 |
Citation: | Frisch , M , Aigrain , Y , Barauskas , V , Bjarnason , R , Boddy , S A , Czauderna , P , De Gier , R P E , De Jong , T P V M , Fasching , G , Fetter , W , Gahr , M , Graugaard , C , Greisen , G , Gunnarsdottir , A , Hartmann , W , Havranek , P , Hitchcock , R , Huddart , S , Janson , S , Jaszczak , P , Kupferschmid , C , Lahdes-Vasama , T , Lindahl , H , MacDonald , N , Markestad , T , Märtson , M , Nordhov , S M , Pälve , H , Pētersons , A , Quinn , F , Qvist , N , Rosmundsson , T , Saxen , H , Söder , O , Stehr , M , Von Loewenich , V C H , Wallander , J & Wijnen , R 2013 , ' Cultural bias in the AAP's 2012 Technical Report and Policy Statement on male circumcision ' , Pediatrics , vol. 131 , no. 4 , pp. 796-800 . https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-2896 |
Abstract: | The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released its new Technical Report and Policy Statement on male circumcision, concluding that current evidence indicates that the health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks. The technical report is based on the scrutiny of a large number of complex scientific articles. Therefore, while striving for objectivity, the conclusions drawn by the 8 task force members reflect what these individual physicians perceived as trustworthy evidence. Seen from the outside, cultural bias reflecting the normality of nontherapeutic male circumcision in the United States seems obvious, and the report's conclusions are different from those reached by physicians in other parts of the Western world, including Europe, Canada, and Australia. In this commentary, a different view is presented by non-US-based physicians and representatives of general medical associations and societies for pediatrics, pediatric surgery, and pediatric urology in Northern Europe. To these authors, only 1 of the arguments put forward by the American Academy of Pediatrics has some theoretical relevance in relation to infant male circumcision; namely, the possible protection against urinary tract infections in infant boys, which can easily be treated with antibiotics without tissue loss. The other claimed health benefits, including protection against HIV/AIDS, genital herpes, genital warts, and penile cancer, are questionable, weak, and likely to have little public health relevance in a Western context, and they do not represent compelling reasons for surgery before boys are old enough to decide for themselves. |
DOI: | 10.1542/peds.2012-2896 |
ISSN: | 0031-4005 |
Appears in Collections: | Research outputs from Pure / Zinātniskās darbības rezultāti no ZDIS Pure |
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