A controversial new study from Denmark shows a link between circumcision and autism, although experts differ sharply over what to make of it.
For the study, published online Jan. 8, 2015 in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, a pair of researchers looked at cases of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in more than 340,000 boys born in Denmark between 1994 and 2003. The researchers found that the overall risk of developing autism before age 10 was almost 50 percent higher for circumcised boys than uncircumcised boys.
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The academy’s circumcision policy statement was issued in 2012. It maintains that the risks of circumcision are outweighed by the benefits, including a reduced risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.
Circumcision guidelines issued recently by the CDC mirror the academy’s statement.
