Circumcision before the age of five can double boys’ risk of developing autism, controversial research suggests.

Circumcision before the age of five can double a boy's risk of developing autism, controversial research suggests. Research showed that circumcision raised the overall chances of an autism spectrum disorder before the age of 10 by 46 per cent. But if circumcision took place before the age of five it doubled the risk, the Daily Mail reports.

Circumcision also appeared to increase the likelihood of boys from non-Muslim families developing hyperactivity disorder.

The research, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, examined more than 340,000 boys born in Denmark between 1994 and 2003. Scientists tracked boys’ health, and almost 5,000 cases of ASD were diagnosed.

One of the participants of research, professor Frisch said that their findings will prompt other researchers to examine the possibility that circumcision trauma in infancy or early childhood might carry an increased risk of serious neurodevelopmental and psychological consequences.

However, some experts don’t agree with the results of research and claim that the findings, while interesting, need to be considered carefully