Morbidity

Now there’s trans a nice topic to discuss. There is a new study out that looks at trans deaths.

Mortality Rate Higher for Transgender People
HCP Live
Dr. Martin den Heijer
September 3, 2021


A new analysis shows transgender individuals have a significantly higher mortality rate when compared to cis men and women.

Using data compiled from the Netherlands spanning 5 decades, a team led by Dr. Martin den Heijer, of Amsterdam UMC, found the mortality risk among this population did not decrease between 1972-2018, based on a number of factors.

“The findings of our large, nationwide study highlight a substantially increased mortality risk among transgender people that has persisted for decades,” den Heijer said in a statement. “Increasing social acceptance, and monitoring and treatment for cardiovascular disease, tobacco use, and HIV, will continue to be important factors that may contribute to decreasing mortality risk in transgender people.”

The Study
The study included 4568 adult transgender people—2927 transgender women and 1641 transgender men. Each participant attended the gender identity clinic at Amsterdam UMC to receive gender-affirming hormone treatment. The investigators analyzed data from medical files on participants’ age at the beginning of hormone treatment, the type of treatment, smoking habits, medical history, and the last day of follow-up.
[…]
The investigators compared the ratio of deaths among transgender individuals to the rates for the adult Dutch population using data provided by the Statistics Netherlands (CBS), which holds a record of all death of residents of the Netherlands.

Their findings…

A total of 317 (10.8%) transgender women and 44 (2.7%) transgender men died during the duration of the study, which equated to an overall mortality rate of 628 deaths per 100,000 people per year.
[…]
An analysis of the subgroups show transgender women were 2.6 times as likely to die of cardiovascular disease, 3.1 times as likely to die from lung cancer, 8.7 times as likely to die from infection, and 6.1 times as likely to die from non-natural causes as cis women.

The greatest risk for those suffering from cardiovascular disease was heart attacks, which were 3 times higher in transgender women than cis women.
[…]
While the differences were not as high for transgender men, they were still higher than cis women in comparison. Overall, the mortality rates between the 2 groups was similar, with transgender men 1.1 times as likely to die as cis men.

Wait a minute!

What about trans men compared to cis-men? Don’t compare them to women!

The bottom-line;

“Gender-affirming hormone treatment is thought to be safe, and most causes of death in the cohort were not related to this,” den Heijer said. “However, as there is insufficient evidence at present to determine their long-term safety, more research is needed to fully establish whether they in any way affect mortality risk for transgender people.”

In an article in Forbes about the study…

Transgender People Twice As Likely To Die As Cisgender People, Study Finds
By Robert Hart
September 2, 2021


TOPLINE Transgender people are twice as likely to die as cisgender people, according to a long running study published in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology on Thursday, a difference researchers said underscores the need for improving social acceptance and medical care for trans people.

Hold it right there… we are all going to die. I think they mean sooner than cis-gender people.

The increased risk did not fall over the almost five decades studied between 1972 and 2018, according to an analysis of medical records from nearly 3,000 trans women and more than 1,600 trans men treated at the Amsterdam University Medical Center, which treats around 90% of trans people in the country.

Trans women had particularly elevated risks of death—notably from heart disease, lung cancer, HIV-related illness and suicide—the researchers noted, and were almost twice as likely to die than cis men and nearly three times as likely to die than cis women.

There were no differences in the risks of death between trans and cisgender men, the study found, though the group was almost twice as likely to die than cis women, especially from non-natural causes like suicide.

My thoughts on the difference between trans women and trans men.

Could it be because of discrimination? Could it be because of how well a person integrates in to society? Trans men have an easier time getting a job while many trans women have to make their living in the margins of society.

The researchers said the findings add weight to the idea that the health disparities observed in transgender people are not primarily driven by gender-affirming hormone treatment—which can potentially increase the likelihood of some conditions—as most causes of increased death identified have no indication of being a consequence of this.

It seems to me that our early deaths are more due to discrimination and being forced to live and work in a dangerous environment than treatment for gender dysphoria.

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Today is "Switch Day" for me, I'm heading home for the Cape today.