Half Of Newborn Americans Undergo Circumcision

January 22, 2008 11:39 p.m. EST

Rockville, MD (AHN) - About 1.2 million or half (56 percent) of newborn boys are circumcised in the U.S. each year, with circumcision rates highest in the Midwest and lowest in the West.

Only 31 percent of newborn boys were circumcised in hospitals in 2005 in the West while 75 percent of infants are circumcised in the Midwest, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Newswise reported.

The figures are 65 percent in the Northeast and 56 percent in the South, it said.

The different circumcision rates reflect regional differences in racial, ethnic and immigrant populations and insurance coverage.

Citing the American Academy of Pediatrics, Newswise says routine circumcision may not be necessary although some researches indicate that circumcised men have a lower risk of developing cancer of the penis, newborns have a lower chance of urinary tract infections while adults have lesser risk of HIV transmission.