Male Circumcision Boosts Sexual Pleasure, Study Shows

Efforts to prevent HIV infection by promoting male circumcision -- which reduces the risk of female-to-male transmission by about 60 percent -- got a boost from news presented Wednesday at the 6th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Rome.

In a study of 316 men, average age 22, circumcised between February and September 2009, 82.3 percent said they were "very satisfied" with the operation a month later, and 17.7 percent rated themselves "satisfied," reported researchers from Uganda's University of Makerere.

In addition, 87.7 percent found it easier to reach orgasm after the procedure, and 92.3 percent said they achieved more sexual pleasure. More than 95.4 percent said their partner was satisfied with the look of their circumcised penis, a sentiment shared by nine-tenths of the men. One year after the operation, one-quarter of the 220 then-sexually active men said they used condoms.

Although male circumcision does not directly reduce a female's risk of acquiring HIV from an infected partner, it confers an indirect, statistical advantage to women by reducing the number of infected men.

As of mid-2010, about 175,000 medical circumcisions had been performed to help prevent HIV in 13 high-prevalence countries, UNAIDS said.

For more conference news, visit www.ias2011.org/.

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