Study: Transgender Mortality Rate Twice as High as Those Without Gender Dysphoria

Analysis of data compiled from the Netherlands reveals transgender individuals have a significantly higher mortality rate when compared to people without gender dysphoria, an outcome that suggests a need to closely examine the effects of hormone treatments.

The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal published a report Thursday on the data that was compiled from medical records over five decades.

Researchers Martin den Heijer, Ph.D., of Amsterdam University Medical Centre (UMC) and colleagues found mortality risk among the transgender population did not decrease between 1972 and 2018.

“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 reported by HCPLive.

He added the observational data analysis suggests cross-sex hormone treatments may not be as safe in the long term as has been accepted:

Gender-affirming hormone treatment is thought to be safe, and most causes of death in the cohort were not related to this. 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.

UMC operates a gender identity clinic, and, as the authors explain, data of transgender individuals who received hormone treatments between...

Read More HERE