NEW DELHI New Delhi: Long-term sex hormone treatment in transgender individuals can lead to significant changes in body composition and heart disease risk factors, especially in transgender men, a study found on Thursday. Hormone therapy is a gender-affirming medical treatment that can help transgender people align their bodies with their gender identity. The study, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, showed that long-term use of hormone therapy led to changes in fat content over time, with the greatest changes in muscle mass and strength occurring after just one year of treatment.
The research from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden followed 17 adult transgender men and 16 transgender women who were prescribed treatment with testosterone and estrogen, respectively. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) they mapped body composition and also measured metabolic risk factors through blood tests, blood pressure and vascular stiffness. Scans were taken before hormone therapy started, after a year, and again five to six years later to assess differences. Tommy Lundberg of the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Karolinska said the muscle volume of transgender men treated with testosterone increased an average of 21 percent over six years.
As well as a 70 percent increase in their belly fat, they also had more liver fat and higher levels of 'bad' LDL cholesterol – which increased their risk of heart disease. Lundberg recommends “preventing heart disease and other health problems.” Stressed the need to “continue monitoring the long-term health effects of hormone therapy in transgender individuals.” Notably, the study did not find a similar increase in body changes in transgender women who received estrogen treatment. After five years of treatment their muscle volume decreased by an average of seven percent, while muscle strength remained unchanged. Transgender women had increased total fat, but decreased abdominal fat, the researchers said.
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