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Circumcision status and HIV infection among Black and Latino men who have sex with men in 3 US cities.

Millett GA, Ding H, Lauby J, Flores S, Stueve A, Bingham T, Carballo-Dieguez A, Murrill C, Liu KL, Wheeler D, Liau A, Marks G

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. gmillett@cdc.gov

OBJECTIVE: To examine characteristics of circumcised and uncircumcised Latino and black men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States and assess the association between circumcision and HIV infection. METHODS: Using respondent-driven sampling, 1154 black MSM and 1091 Latino MSM were recruited from New York City, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. A 45-minute computer-assisted interview and a rapid oral fluid HIV antibody test (OraSure Technologies, Bethlehem, PA) were administered to participants. RESULTS: Circumcision prevalence was higher among black MSM than among Latino MSM (74% vs. 33%; P < 0.0001). Circumcised MSM in both racial/ethnic groups were more likely than uncircumcised MSM to be born in the United States or to have a US-born parent. Circumcision status was not associated with prevalent HIV infection among Latino MSM, black MSM, black bisexual men, or black or Latino men who reported being HIV-negative based on their last HIV test. Further, circumcision was not associated with a reduced likelihood of HIV infection among men who had engaged in unprotected insertive and not unprotected receptive anal sex. CONCLUSIONS: In these cross-sectional data, there was no evidence that being circumcised was protective against HIV infection among black MSM or Latino MSM.

Published 28 November 2007 in J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr, 46(5): 643-50.
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