By david Liu, PHD

Wednesday Aug 22, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- News media is more likely to report the benefits of male circumcision than the side effects of this completely unnecessary medical procedure.  Currently, the media is hyping that circumcision may lower medical cost.

A study published in 2011 in International Journal of Epidemiology showed that male circumcision can cause some undesirable side effects including the difficulty having orgasm in both men and their spouses.

The study led by Morten Frisch of Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen S, Denmark and colleagues said in their report that one third of the world's men are circumcised, but surprisingly doctors know little about what possible sexual consequences of male circumcision may cause both in men and their female spouses.

For the study which involved 5552 men and their spouses (women), the authors examined associations of male circumcision with a spectrum of sexual measures in both genders.  They surveyed the participants for men's circumcision status and their sexual lives including sexual desire, sexual needs fulfilment and sexual functioning.

The researchers found circumcised men reported having more partners and were more likely to have frequent orgasm difficulties, compared to those uncircumcised men after adjusting for potential confounders, 11 percent versus 4 percent. In other words, circumcised men were 3.26 times as likely as those who were uncircumcised to experience orgasm difficulties.

It was also found that women with circumcised spouses were 109 percent, 226 percent, 166 percent, and 745 percent more likely than those who had uncircumcised spouses to have incomplete sexual needs fulfilment, frequent sexual function difficulties, orgasm difficulties, and dyspareunia, respectively.

The researchers concluded "Circumcision was associated with frequent orgasm difficulties in Danish men and with a range of frequent sexual difficulties in women, notably orgasm difficulties, dyspareunia and a sense of incomplete sexual needs fulfilment."