Does circumcision reduce penile sensitivity?

While extensive research has been conducted on the hygienic results of neonatal circumcision, significantly less study has focused on how circumcision affects penile sensitivity and sexual function.

Now, research reported in The Journal of Urology suggests there are no changes in penile sensitivity for a range of stimuli and penile locations. Furthermore, this study conflicts with past studies suggesting the foreskin is the most sensitive and sexually important area of the adult penis.

No hood, still good?

When the American Academy of Pediatrics and Canadian Pediatric Society recently revised their policies regarding routine neonatal circumcision, it stoked this long-running debate. Concentrating on health outcomes, especially protection from sexually transmitted infections as opposed to penile sensitivity, the American organization encourages routine circumcision of newborn males. Incidentally, Canadian policy does not.

Researchers analyzed two theories that might support lowered penile sensitivity: if the exposed glans penis of circumcised men is less delicate than that of intact men and if the foreskin is more sensitive than other locations on the penis.

“We directly tested whether circumcision is associated with a reduction in penile sensitivity by testing tactile detection, pain, warmth detection, and heat pain thresholds at multiple sites on the penis between groups of healthy (neonatally) circumcised and intact men,” study author Jennifer Bossio, a PhD candidate in clinical psychology at Queen’s University in Canada, said in a news release. “This study indicates that neonatal circumcision is not associated with changes in penile sensitivity and provides preliminary evidence to suggest that the foreskin is not the most sensitive part of the penis.”

In the study, scientists used quantitative sensory testing (QST) protocols to evaluate touch and pain thresholds and warmth detection and heat pain thresholds at a control location on the forearm and three to four penile locations in 62 male participants. The authors noted the pain, warmth detection, and heat pain stimuli most likely trigger nerve fibers more related to sexual pleasure than touch thresholds, which has been the main objective of previous study.

Researchers also assessed sexual function via the International Index of Erectile Functioning (IIEF), a 15-item evaluation of men’s sexual functioning within the last four weeks across the five areas of erectile function: intercourse satisfaction, orgasmic function, sexual desire, and overall satisfaction. No contrasts between the groups were identified on any of these steps, indicating sexual functioning may not vary across circumcision status.

“Methodology and results from this study build on previous research and imply that if sexual functioning is related to circumcision status, this relationship is not likely the result of decreased penile sensitivity stemming from neonatal circumcision,” Bossio said.

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Image credit: Thinkstock

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