Reduction in Mental Health Treatment Utilization Among Transgender Individuals After Gender-Affirming Surgeries: A Total Population Study.

OBJECTIVE: Despite professional recommendations to consider gender-affirming hormone and surgical interventions for transgender individuals experiencing gender incongruence, the long-term effect of such interventions on mental health is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to ascertain the prevalence of mood and anxiety disorder health care visits and antidepressant and anxiolytic prescriptions in 2015 as a function of gender incongruence diagnosis and gender-affirming hormone and surgical treatment in the entire Swedish population. METHODS: This study used the Swedish Total Population Register (N=9,747,324), linked to the National Patient Register and the Prescribed Drug Register. Among individuals who received a diagnosis of gender incongruence (i.e., transsexualism or gender identity disorder) between 2005 and 2015 (N=2,679), mental health treatment in 2015 was examined as a function of length of time since gender-affirming hormone and surgical treatment. Outcome measures were mood and anxiety disorder health care visits, antidepressant and anxiolytic prescriptions, and hospitalization after a suicide attempt. RESULTS: Compared with the general population, individuals with a gender incongruence diagnosis were about six times as likely to have had a mood and anxiety disorder health care visit, more than three times as likely to have received prescriptions for antidepressants and anxiolytics, and more than six times as likely to have been hospitalized after a suicide attempt. Years since initiating hormone treatment was not significantly related to likelihood of mental health treatment (adjusted odds ratio=1.01, 95% CI=0.98, 1.03). However, increased time since last gender-affirming surgery was associated with reduced mental health treatment (adjusted odds ratio=0.92, 95% CI=0.87, 0.98). CONCLUSIONS: In this first total population study of transgender individuals with a gender incongruence diagnosis, the longitudinal association between gender-affirming surgery and reduced likelihood of mental health treatment lends support to the decision to provide gender-affirming surgeries to transgender individuals who seek them.

What urologists need to know about female-to-male genital confirmation surgery (phalloplasty and metoidioplasty): techniques, complications, and how to deal with them.

Transmasculine gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is technically challenging, and in the past associated with a high but improving complication rate. Few surgical centers are performing this surgery, which can include metoidioplasty and phalloplasty, and patients often travel great distances for their surgery. While many will continue care with their original surgeons, others cannot due to social/geographic factors, or because emergencies arise. Thus, patients may seek care with their local urologist for relief of delayed complications, the most common of which include urethral stricture, penile prosthesis issues and urethrocutaneous fistula. This review will discuss the surgical elements behind metoidioplasty and phalloplasty, and the diagnosis and treatment for the most common postoperative issues.

Trastorno de identidad de género: Parte I. Definición, epidemiología, etiología, rol del endocrinólogo en diagnóstico y tratamiento / Gender identity disorders: definition, etiology,epidemiology and role of the endocrinologist in theirmanagement

Gender identity disorders (GID) or transsexuality have been a latent issue in Chile 20 years after the first sex reassignment treatment in 1973. Sexual minority groups have posed the problem and even present a bill for civil sexual change. Since the nineties, the number of consultants due to gender identity problems has increased steadily, including children and adolescents. The lack of medical expertise in the area, requires urgent training programs. The first part of this manuscript will deal with the definition, epidemiology, etiology and role of the endocrinologist in the process of sexual reassignment among patients with gender identity disorders. We review sexual differentiation, brain sexual dimorphism and Sexual Development Disorders (SDD) aiming to understand the neurobiological causes of GID and to perform a better differential diagnosis with Sexual Development Disorders. GID are not a psychiatric disease. However the suffering caused by stigmatization, exclusion andabuse generate emotional problems (gender dysphoria). SDD has a genetic and hormonal basis in most cases. Its clinical expression at birth can cause an erroneous civil sex assignation or a discordant civil sex with the sexual identity of the person when there is a surgical correction. GIS without gender dysphoria was excluded as a mental disease from DSM-V and it will also be excluded from the eleventh version of the international classification of diseases. It will maintained as a condition that should be differentiated from SDD and whose treatment should be financed by health systems.