Gender-affirming hormone therapy reduces depressive symptoms and psychological distress in transgender people, according to a systematic review of research in the field.
The study that reviewed 46 journal articles noted that gender-affirming hormone therapy is the most common form of medical intervention used by transgender people as it changes a person’s physical appearance to better align with their gender identity. And so once they have started the therapy, transgender people are usually instructed to continue it for the rest of their lives.
Nonetheless, transgender people struggle disproportionately with their own mental health and in their social lives. And so there is a need to better understand the psychological consequences of hormones, as some previous research has suggested they may have a biological effect on aspects of psychosocial functioning; such as wellbeing, self-control and trust.
This study particularly found that gender-affirming hormone therapy reduces depressive symptoms and psychological distress in transgender people, but “we don’t know if this is caused by the biological effects of hormones or other related factors,” said Dr. David Matthew Doyle from Amsterdam University Medical Centers, who led this study.
As such – as co-author Prof. Manuela Barreto, of the University of Exeter, said – there is a need to acknowledge and attend to the psychosocial effects of interventions such as hormone therapy as these can prevent the need to access mental health services, which may be overwhelmed. “We need better designed research that involves transgender people from the start, so we can understand both the biological and psychosocial aspects of therapy and improve care.”
The paper, entitled ‘‘A Systematic Review of Psychosocial Functioning Changes after Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy Among Transgender People”, is published in Nature Human Behaviour.
