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. 2010 Mar 13;24(5):737-44.
doi: 10.1097/QAD.0b013e32833616e0.

Male circumcision and risk of male-to-female HIV-1 transmission: a multinational prospective study in African HIV-1-serodiscordant couples

Jared M Baeten  1 , Deborah Donnell, Saidi H Kapiga, Allan Ronald, Grace John-Stewart, Mubiana Inambao, Rachel Manongi, Bellington Vwalika, Connie Celum; Partners in Prevention HSV/HIV Transmission Study Team
Collaborators, Affiliations

Male circumcision and risk of male-to-female HIV-1 transmission: a multinational prospective study in African HIV-1-serodiscordant couples

Jared M Baeten et al. AIDS. .

Abstract

Objective: Male circumcision reduces female-to-male HIV-1 transmission risk by approximately 60%. Data assessing the effect of circumcision on male-to-female HIV-1 transmission are conflicting, with one observational study among HIV-1-serodiscordant couples showing reduced transmission but a randomized trial suggesting no short-term benefit of circumcision.

Design/methods: Data collected as part of a prospective study among African HIV-1-serodiscordant couples were analyzed for the relationship between circumcision status of HIV-1-seropositive men and risk of HIV-1 acquisition among their female partners. Circumcision status was determined by physical examination. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used.

Results: A total of 1096 HIV-1-serodiscordant couples in which the male partner was HIV-1-infected were followed for a median of 18 months; 374 (34%) male partners were circumcised. Sixty-four female partners seroconverted to HIV-1 (incidence 3.8 per 100 person-years). Circumcision of the male partner was associated with a nonstatistically significant approximately 40% lower risk of HIV-1 acquisition by the female partner (hazard ratio 0.62, 95% confidence interval 0.35-1.10, P = 0.10). The magnitude of this effect was similar when restricted to the subset of HIV-1 transmission events confirmed by viral sequencing to have occurred within the partnership (n = 50, hazard ratio 0.57, P = 0.11), after adjustment for male partner plasma HIV-1 concentrations (hazard ratio 0.60, P = 0.13), and when excluding follow-up time for male partners who initiated antiretroviral therapy (hazard ratio 0.53, P = 0.07).

Conclusion: Among HIV-1-serodiscordant couples in which the HIV-1-seropositive partner was male, we observed no increased risk and potentially decreased risk from circumcision on male-to-female transmission of HIV-1.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00194519.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: No authors report conflicts of interest regarding content for this manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Kaplan-Meier curve comparing cumulative HIV-1 incidence among female partners of circumcised versus uncircumcised HIV-1 seropositive men
Cumulative HIV-1 incidence among female partners of circumcised (dashed) and uncircumcised (solid) HIV-1 infected men.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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