Circumcision rates have dropped significantly in the United States, driven in part by parents’ distrust of medical recommendations, according to a new study.
Circumcision of newborn boys declined from 54% to 49% between 2012 and 2022, based on records from more than 1.5 million U.S. male births.
The trend contradicts doctors’ guidance, researchers noted, pointing out that the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have all recommended male infant circumcision for lifelong health benefits.
The surgical removal of the foreskin from the penis is known to provide numerous health benefits, including improved hygiene and reduced risk of urinary tract infections and sexually transmitted diseases.
Co-senior researcher Dr. Aaron Tobian, a professor of pathology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, stated in a news release: “Based on our findings, we believe that multiple factors may contribute to the decline in the number of neonates circumcised.”
Medical Skepticism as a Factor
The type of distrust that has fueled vaccine skepticism and hesitancy likely represents one of those factors, researchers suggested.
Tobian explained: “Despite overwhelming evidence that neonatal male circumcisions provide health benefits, increasing public skepticism in the United States toward medical recommendations may be driving more parents to choose not to have their sons get circumcised.”
Demographic Shifts
The growth of America’s Hispanic population also may contribute to this trend, Tobian said.
Circumcisions decreased by more than 5% among white male babies, from more than 65% in 2012 to 60% in 2022.
However, rates remained relatively stable among Black, Asian, and Hispanic infants, with rates hovering around 65%, 38%, and 21% respectively, researchers found.
Tobian noted: “Hispanics — the ethnic group that historically reports the lowest circumcision prevalence — also is the largest growing population in the United States. Therefore, the overall circumcision rate is skewed downward.”
Insurance Coverage Changes
Changes in public health insurance may also have reduced circumcisions, researchers said.
Tobian stated: “By 2011, one year before our study period began, 17 states had ended Medicaid coverage for routine neonatal male circumcisions. This likely created barriers to such services for families at low-income levels during the decade we analyzed.”
Study Methodology
Researchers analyzed data from the Kids’ Inpatient Database, a nationally representative dataset of U.S. childhood hospitalizations maintained by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The study was published on September 15 in JAMA Pediatrics.
This research highlights how multiple factors—including medical skepticism, demographic changes, and insurance policy shifts—are converging to reshape circumcision practices in the United States, despite continued professional medical endorsements of the procedure’s health benefits.