Hormone therapy for gender affirmation can help patients in both mental and physical health, according to a new study published on Monday (17) in Jama Network Open.
“Transgender, non-binary and gender diversity patients who received hormones prescribed a 15% lower risk of moderate to serious depressive symptoms during 4 years of follow-up compared to those who did not receive hormones,” says the study’s main author, Associate Professor of Public Health School at the University of Michigan, by e-mail.
THE study He analyzed data from 3,592 patients from two federally qualified Community Health Centers in Boston and New York, observing both hormone therapy prescription and their scores in the patient’s health questionnaire, which indicated their levels of depression.
Participants who received hormone therapy had significantly lower risks of moderate to severe depression in their four years of follow -up, according to the study.
“When patients with gender diversity have access to safe and effective hormonal drugs and proper care, they are more likely to experiment with healthier mental health results over time,” says Michelle Forcier, medical director of Folx Health, a mental telesaúde platform and well-being for people in the LGBTQia+community, and a medical in Transhealth, a clinic in Florence, Florence, clinic, Massachusetts.
“Providing hormones not only provided physical benefits to transgender and gender diversity patients, but once again we have also shown that they also improve their mental health results,” adds Forcier, who is also deputy director of admissions at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University. She did not participate in the research.
The study arises amid the executive orders of President Donald Trump that would restrict gender affirmation medical care for young transgender people, prohibit trans women from competing in most women’s sports, and dismissing transgender military and recruits.
Depression rates are higher in the transgender population
Depression rates in transgender, non-binary or gender diversity are a public health crisis and need to be approached, according to Reisner.
“Trans people experience mental health disparities with higher rates of depression and suicide than cisgender people (non-transgender),” he added. “Trans people are literally dying. There is an urgent need – now more than ever – to take care of us, support us and ensure that we have the vital care we deserve and need to prosper.”
It is estimated that 8.3% of US adults have experienced at least one larger depressive episode, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. But a 2023 study found that about 33% of transgender people showed signs of depression.
The highest rates of poorer health results – including anxiety, depression and suicidal tendencies – – in transgender people may be due to many factors, but a major contributor are the effects of prejudice and discrimination, according to Forcier.
“Minority stress and discrimination also lead to greater risk of economic disadvantage, housing difficulties and homeless, use/abuse of substances and HIV. These cumulative disadvantages can significantly impact many aspects of physical and mental health,” he says.
Systemic problems, including stigma, civil rights attacks and impediment to access to health care aggravate mental health challenges, adds Melina Wald, a clinical psychologist to her private clinic Bespoke Health in Connecticut and New York via email. Wald co -fired the Gender and Sexuality Program of the Columbia University Medical Center. Wald was not involved in the research.
Bills for medical care for transgender people have increased, according to Reisner. In 2018, “2 bills were introduced and in 2023, 185 projects were.
Accessible to all
A strong point of the study was the diversity in the ages, races, ethnicities and socioeconomic status of the population, according to Forcier.
“This sample reflects much more the diversity of the US population than previous studies based on specialized clinics,” he says. “The US is an increasingly diverse population and medical studies that reflect this offer more valuable insights to care.”
The study also shows that effective hormonal care can be viable in more diverse community environments, says Forcier.
“The fact that these patients have benefited from care in these various primary care clinics in different communities, suggests that effective gender-affirmative hormonal treatment is no longer restricted to urban academic specialized clinics,” he adds by email.
In general, scientific literature shows that hormone therapy is safe and effective, says Forcier.
“We have more than 25 years of consistent, persistent and insistent evidence that gender affirmative approaches for the care of transgender people offer a variety of medical benefits and mental health.
That said, care for depression in the transgender population should not be limited to hormone therapy, according to Wald.
“Although gender affirmative hormone therapy is crucially important to improve mental health, the importance of access to evidence -based psychiatric interventions for the treatment of depression should not be neglected,” he says. “It’s an approach that includes both aspects instead of one or the other.”
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This content was originally published in hormone therapy reduces risk of transgender depression, shows a study on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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