Men who receive hormone treatment as part of their gender transition are up to 95 percent more likely to suffer heart disease, according to a new study assessing the dubiously named gender-affirming care.
Published in the European Journal of Endocrinology, the study showed that all transgender people were at “significantly increased risk” of deadly medical conditions such as heart attacks and strokes.
The study relied on health data from 2,671 Danish transgender patients in their early to mid-20s over a five-year period. The authors then compared the rate of heart disease among transgender individuals to a control population of 26,710 people who don’t identify as transgender.
Transgender women (biological men), who took estrogen to mimic female characteristics as part of their gender transition were 93 percent more likely to experience cardiovascular disease than control men and 73 percent more likely than women. Transgender men (biological women), who received testosterone were at a 63 percent higher risk of developing cardiovascular issues than control women and 2.2 times more at risk than men. Hypertension (high blood pressure) and dyslipidemia (abnormal blood fats) were the leading cardiovascular complications among trans individuals involved in the study.
Dr. Dorte Glintborg, lead author from Odense University Hospital, Denmark, said that hormone ingestion contributed “around a third” of the elevated risk for transgender men (biological women).
“Hormone treatments such as oestrogen will increase fat mass and lower lean body mass, and increased oestrogen is usually associated with increased risk of autoimmune disease and inflammation,” she said, according to the Telegraph.
