Association of medical male circumcision and sexually transmitted infections in a population-based study using targeted maximum likelihood estimation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Epidemiological theory and many empirical studies support the hypothesis that there is a protective effect of male circumcision against some sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, there is a paucity of randomized control trials (RCTs) to test this hypothesis in the South African population. Due to the infeasibility of conducting RCTs, estimating marginal or average treatment effects with observational data increases interest. Using targeted maximum likelihood estimation (TMLE), a doubly robust estimation technique, we aim to provide evidence of an association between medical male circumcision (MMC) and two STI outcomes.

Methods

HIV and HSV-2 status were the two primary outcomes for this study. We investigated the associations between MMC and these STI ou

SUBMITTER: Amusa L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8425067 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature