Background: With the rapidly-increased HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men worldwide, the effectiveness of voluntary medical male circumcision as the tool of HIV prevention still remains undetermined.
Purpose: In the current study, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between voluntary medical male circumcision and HIV risk among men who have sex with men.
Methods and conclusion: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guideline, we conducted a comprehensive literature search through multiple databases. A total of 37 articles/abstracts were included in the analysis. We employed random-effects models and subgroup analyses based upon key study characteristics derived from empirical studies. A total of 117,293 men who have sex with men were included in the meta-analysis, and no randomized control trials have been identified. The odds of being HIV positive were 7% lower among men who have sex with men who were circumcised than among men who have sex with men who were uncircumcised (adjusted odds ratio, 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.88-0.99). The evidence for the potential protective effect of voluntary medical male circumcision was stronger among men who have sex with men in Asia and Africa (adjusted odds ratio, 0.62; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.73). Our meta-analyses may suggest a protective effect of voluntary medical male circumcision against HIV infection among men who have sex with men, especially in settings like Asia/Africa.
Keywords: Voluntary medical male circumcision; men who have sex with men; sexual positioning.