Overview

• The analysis of AHRQ’s Kids’ Inpatient Database found hospital-based circumcision declined from 54.1% in 2012 to 49.3% in 2022 across more than 1.5 million newborn records each year.
• The overall drop was driven by White infants, whose rates peaked near 65.3% in 2019 before falling to 60.0% in 2022, while rates for Black (~66%) and Hispanic (~21%) newborns stayed relatively stable.
• Regional variation was wide, with prevalence at 68.5% in the Midwest and 19.7% in the West in 2022, including a decline among White newborns in the West from 34.3% to 26.2% over the decade.
• Socioeconomic patterns showed higher baseline rates yet steeper declines among wealthier zip codes and privately insured families, compared with smaller shifts among Medicaid-covered births.
• Authors also pointed to demographic shifts and earlier Medicaid coverage cuts in 17 states as possible factors, while noting the study tracks inpatient procedures in the first 28 days and omits outpatient or later circumcisions.