SynthesisJournal of evidence-based medicine2019
Critical evaluation of arguments opposing male circumcision: A systematic review.
Synthesis in Journal of evidence-based medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence-based clinical practice guideline for management of urinary tract infection and primary vesicoureteric reflux.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2024Guideline
- Critical evaluation of arguments opposing male circumcision: A systematic review.Journal of evidence-based medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Does the evidence support circumcision of infant males in the United Kingdom?-a systematic review.Translational andrology and urology · 2026Review
- Sexual Mechanosensitivity: Age-Related Changes in the Innervation of the Human Prepuce.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- An examination of erroneous medical practices in circumcision surgery in light of supreme court decisions.Pediatric surgery international · 2024Article
- Factors influencing neonatal male circumcision uptake among expecting couples in Zambia: formative findings.AIDS care · 2024Article
- Neonatal Male Circumcision: Clearly Beneficial for Public Health or an Ethical Dilemma? A Systematic Review.Cureus · 2024Review
- Clinical and environmental considerations for neonatal, office-based circumcisions compared with operative circumcisions.Frontiers in urology · 2024Review
- Article
- Comments by opponents on the British Medical Association's guidance on non-therapeutic male circumcision of children seem one-sided and may undermine public health.World journal of clinical pediatrics · 2023Article
- Psychological, psychosocial, and psychosexual aspects of penile circumcision.International journal of impotence research · 2023Review
- Re: The medical evidence on non-therapeutic circumcision of infants and boys-setting the record straight.International journal of impotence research · 2023Article
- Understanding the Evolving Role of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision as a Public Health Strategy in Eastern and Southern Africa: Opportunities and Challenges.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2022Review
- A comprehensive comparison of the early and late complications of surgical circumcision in neonates and children: A cohort study.Health science reports · 2022Article
- Article
- Infant Circumcision for Sexually Transmitted Infection Risk Reduction Globally.Global health, science and practice · 2022Article
- Penile lichen sclerosus, circumcision and sequelae, what are the questions?Translational andrology and urology · 2022Article
- Preputioplasty as a surgical alternative in treatment of phimosis.International journal of impotence research · 2022Review
- Evidence-based circumcision policy for Australia.Journal of men's health · 2022Article
- Sensory innervation of the human male prepuce: Meissner's corpuscles predominate.Journal of anatomy · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo systematically evaluate evidence against male circumcision (MC).
methodsWe searched PubMed, Google Scholar, EMBASE and Cochrane databases.
resultsDatabase searches retrieved 297 publications for inclusion. Bibliographies of these yielded 101 more. After evaluation we found: Claims that MC carries high risk were contradicted by low frequency of adverse events that were virtually all minor and easily treated with complete resolution. Claims that MC causes psychological harm were contradicted by studies finding no such harm. Claims that MC impairs sexual function and pleasure were contradicted by high-quality studies finding no adverse effect. Claims disputing the medical benefits of MC were contradicted by a large body of high-quality evidence indicating protection against a wide range of infections, dermatological conditions, and genital cancers in males and the female sexual partners of men. Risk-benefit analyses reported that benefits exceed risks by 100-200 to 1. To maximize benefits and minimize risks, the evidence supported early infant MC rather than arguments that the procedure should be delayed until males are old enough to decide for themselves. Claims that MC of minors is unethical were contradicted by balanced evaluations of ethical issues supporting the rights of children to be provided with low-risk, high-benefit interventions such as MC for better health. Expert evaluations of case-law supported the legality of MC of minors. Other data demonstrated that early infant MC is cost-saving to health systems.
conclusionsArguments opposing MC are supported mostly by low-quality evidence and opinion, and are contradicted by strong scientific evidence.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.