p("HISTORICAL The only historical compilation of circumcision rates is Edward Wallerstein's Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy. His statistics are estimates for the years 1870 (the year circumcision was introduced to the United States) through 1979. In 1979 popularity of circumcision reached a record high in the United States at 85%; a number Wallerstein says is conservative. Since then the rate has decreased. This graph combines Wallerstein estimates with the above calculated rates.");
p("");
p("INTACT RATE The intact rate for 2002 is 38.6%. The last time the rate was this high was around 1945. In 1979 an estimated 15% of boys retained their normal penis. The intact rate has increased almost three-fold since then. The number of circumcisions for 2002 increased 10.9% from the previous year.");
p("MEDICALIZATION The medicalization of ritual circumcision is a phenomenon unique to English speaking countries. Originating in the United Kingdom, it spread to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Since then, the rates have plummeted in all these countries except the United States, which still circumcises most of its boys. In the United Kingdom, where infant circumcisions rarely occur, the circumcision rate is 0.41% for boys under one-year-old. No scientific experiment has ever proven any of the claimed benefits of prophylactic circumcision.");
p("NON-THERAPEUTIC Circumcision in the neonatal period is contraindicated. Its risks exceed its benefits, if any. The American Academy of Pediatricians concluded: "There is no absolute medical indication for routine circumcision of the newborn." The American Medical Association, American Cancer Society, and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists concur.");
p("REGIONAL VARIATIONS The number of circumcisions varies by region. Over the past ten years numbers in the Northeast and North Central regions have generally dropped while the South region have risen, rates in the West have remainded at about the same, low leve. However, for some inexplicable reason, this year rates in the Northeast region increased.");
p("");
p("COST There are conflicting reports of the true cost of neonatal circumcisions. Medicaid paid at least $35 million for circumcision in 1999. The AAP estimates that circumcision costs $150-270 million annually, not including complications. The additional cost of an extra 1/2 day hospital stay, on average, is estimated to be well over $200 million annually.");
p("MORBIDITY Deaths from circumcision and its complications are estimated at 229 per year based on a ratio from a British study. There are about 178 times the number of circumcision deaths than schoolyard violent deaths each year.");
p("RACIAL VARIATIONS Racial make-up of patients changed over the past ten years. White rates are down 38%. Black rates are down 33%. Asian rates are up 130%. American Indian rates are up 263% and Hispanic rates are down 21%.");
p("");
p("CANCER The prostate cancer rate is 160 per 100,000. Sometimes a man's foreskin is used for reconstructive surgery. An earlier non-therapeutic circumcision would eliminate this option.");
If the purpose is to reduce:
Circumcision may prevent:
If the circumcisions number:
With subsequent circumcision complications reaching:
Including estimated infant deaths of:
Testis Cancer
0 to 5.3 deaths
100,000
1000 cases
18
Penile Cancer
0 to 1 deaths
100,000
1000 cases
18
p("FEMALE CIRCUMCISION No female circumcisions have been performed in U.S. hospitals since 1991 when 8 surgeries were performed. It is illegal to circumcise females in the U.S. except to treat a diagnosed medical condition.");
p("REASONS Prophylactic medical benefits, hygiene, and culture are often given as the reason to circumcise, the same reasons most often given for female genital mutilation.");
p_small("This report will be updated annually as data becomes available. Dan Bollinger is an independent men's studies researcher. He resides in West Lafayette, Indiana.");
hr();
p("Certain data used in this study were supplied by Solucient, LLC, Evanston, Illinois. Any analysis, interpretation, or conclusion based on these data is solely that of the authors, and not Solucient.");
hr();
Citation:
Bollinger D. Normal versus Circumcised: U.S. Neonatal Male Genital Ratio, 2004, white paper, 2/12/04.
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