Circumcision and HIV infection among MSM in Britain: the role of the insertive role

1. Circumcision and HIV infection among MSM in Britain: the role of the insertive role R Doerner1, E McKeown1, S Nelson2, J Anderson3, N Low4, J Elford1 1 City University London UK, 2 Terrence Higgins Trust Bristol, 3 Homerton University Hospital London, 4 University of Bern Switzerland

2. Objective • This study examines the association between circumcision status and prevalent HIV infection among British MSM who predominantly or only take the insertive role in anal sex Methods • MESH project - MSM living in Britain completed an anonymous, confidential questionnaire online in 2007 – 2008 • The sample was restricted to 11,839 white British MSM who completed the questionnaire

3. Results • 4898 MSM reported unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) in the previous 3 months • Of these 16.7% were circumcised • Nearly one third of the 4898 MSM reporting UAI were only or mostly insertive (n=1521) • Of these 16.7% were also circumcised

4. Results Only/mostly insertive men Adjusted OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.44, 1.47, p=0.49 • 4898 MSM reported unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) in the previous 3 months • Of these 16.7% were circumcised • Nearly one third of the 4898 MSM reporting UAI were only or mostly insertive (n=1521) • Of these 16.7% were also circumcised

5. Conclusion In this large sample of MSM in Britain, we found no association between circumcision status and prevalent HIV among men who mostly or only take the insertive role in UAI Our findings provided further evidence that circumcision among MSM is unlikely to reduce the risk of HIV acquisition even for men who only or predominantly take the insertive role

6. Thank you!