Hormonal
Cross-sex hormone therapy (testosterone for trans men, estrogen/anti-androgens for trans women) significantly improves quality of life, mood, and reduces perceived stress and cortisol levels.
If you are transgender and experiencing gender dysphoria, cross-sex hormone therapy is the standard medical treatment to align your body with your identity. This treatment is proven to improve quality of life, mood, and reduce stress. While there are physical risks to monitor (like bone and heart health), the psychological benefits are significant. Work with a provider to find the right regimen for you.
Hormone therapy improves transgender patients’ quality of life (20). Longitudinal studies also show positive effects on sexual function and mood (16,18). ... Colizzi et al. (23) looked at 70 transgender patients on hormone therapy and measured their cortisol levels as well as their perceived stress before and 12 months after starting hormone therapy. They found that after starting cross-sex hormones, both perceived stress and cortisol were significantly reduced.
Why this rating
The paper cites longitudinal studies and specific mechanistic studies (Kranz, Colizzi), but notes that large-scale prospective studies are lacking and many existing studies have small numbers.
Source
Hormone therapy for transgender patients
Cécile A. Unger · Translational Andrology and Urology · 2016
DOI 10.21037/tau.2016.09.04
More from this paper
- Ethinyl estradiol is strongly associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and should be avoided in transgender women; oral and transdermal estradiol are preferred.Good
- Testosterone therapy in transgender men is effective for virilization, with higher doses achieving effects faster but not resulting in greater final outcomes compared to lower doses over the intermediate term.Moderate
- Long-term cross-sex hormone therapy does not increase the occurrence of cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, DVT, cerebrovascular events) in transgender men, despite some negative changes in metabolic risk factors.Moderate
Related findings · Hormonal
- Initial treatment for type 2 diabetes should be a combination of metformin and either an SGLT-2 inhibitor or a GLP-1 receptor agonist to achieve cardiorenal protection, rather than monotherapy or older agents like sulfonylureas.Strong
- For patients with specific monogenic obesity syndromes (leptin deficiency, POMC/PCSK1/LEPR mutations), targeted pharmacotherapy (recombinant leptin or setmelanotide) is highly effective and should be prioritized, unlike in polygenic obesity.Strong
- Continued weekly administration of 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide prevents weight regain and promotes further weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas switching to placebo results in significant weight regain.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →