A new study reveals that boys who were circumcised before the age of five are most likely to develop disorders like autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Experts have associated the development of these disorders to stress caused by the pain of the procedure.
The study has collated the data from 340,000 boys in Denmark and the findings reveal that circumcision predisposed these boys to develop autism spectrum disorder by the age of 10. In fact, there is a 46% increased risk for them developing autism. If the procedure was done before the boys were aged 5, the risk would be doubled. According to a new 10-year research, it is possible that the medical procedure is linked to ADHD too.
The study was published in the journal, Royal Society of Medicine. Professor Morten Frisch of the Statens Serum Institute and lead researcher said, "Our investigation was prompted by the combination of recent animal findings linking a single painful injury to lifelong deficits in stress response and a study showing a strong, positive correlation between a country's neonatal male circumcision rate and its prevalence of ASD in boys."
He added that it is likely that these young boys who undergo the said medical procedure experienced severe pain that the stress it produces can affect their development. Despite the use of pain relievers during circumcision nowadays, the pain is not masked completely and the boys need to endure the pain during circumcision. Apparently, many studies both in animals and humans show that extreme pain has a long-term effect on pain perception and development. Hence, experts recommend postponing circumcision at a later age, often, after age 10 or before puberty.
In related news, circumcision has been a controversial topic lately as its health benefits are always emphasized by experts. Circumcision has many health benefits such as decreased rate of urinary tract infections, reduced risk for sexually transmitted diseases in men, reduced risk for penile cancer and cervical cancer in female sex partners.
