Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2025
Establishment of Rat Models Mimicking Gender-affirming Hormone Therapies
Published on: January 10, 2025
The Effect of Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy on the Risk of Subclinical Atherosclerosis in the Transgender
Roberta M C Moreira Allgayer1, Gustavo da Silva Borba2, Ruy Silveira Moraes3
1Gynecological Endocrinology Unit, Division of Endocrinology, and Gender Identity Program, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Post-graduate Program in Endocrinology, Medicine School, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Objective:
The impact of gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) on cardiovascular (CV) health is still not entirely established. A systematic review was conducted to summarize the evidence on the risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in transgender people receiving GAHT.
Methods:
A systematic review was performed following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines, and data were searched in PubMed, LILACS, EMBASE, and Scopus databases for cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies or randomized clinical trials, including transgender people receiving GAHT. Transgender men and women before and during/after GAHT for at least 2 months, compared with cisgender men and women or hormonally untreated transgender persons. Studies reporting changes in variables related to endothelial function, arterial stiffness, autonomic function, and blood markers of inflammation/coagulation associated with CV risk were included.
Results:
From 159 potentially eligible studies initially identified, 12 were included in the systematic review (8 cross-sectional and 4 cohort studies). Studies of trans men receiving GAHT reported increased carotid thickness, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, and decreased vasodilation. Studies of trans women receiving GAHT reported decreased interleukin 6, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, and tissue plasminogen activator levels and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, with variations in flow-mediated dilation and arterial stiffness depending on the type of treatment and route of administration.
Conclusions:
The results suggest that GAHT is associated with an increased risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in transgender men but may have either neutral or beneficial effects in transgender women. The evidence produced is not entirely conclusive, suggesting that additional studies are warranted in the context of primary prevention of CV disease in the transgender population receiving GAHT.
Systematic Review Registration:
PROSPERO, identifier CRD42022323757.
More Related Videos
06:18An In Vivo Estrogen Deficiency Mouse Model for Screening Exogenous Estrogen Treatments of Cardiovascular Dysfunction After Menopause
Published on: August 13, 2019
07:37Author Spotlight: Advancing Human Ovarian Repair and Cancer Studies with Surface Epithelium Organoids
Published on: August 16, 2024
Related Concept Videos
01:22Hormonal Regulation of the Menstrual Cycle
At puberty, GnRH begins a pulsatile release pattern, which triggers the anterior pituitary gland to secrete follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). The frequency and amplitude of GnRH pulses vary across the menstrual cycle, with faster pulses favoring LH release and slower pulses favoring FSH...
01:26Atherosclerosis III: Management
01:33Hormonal Regulation
01:17Hormonal Regulation of Blood Pressure
Epinephrine and Norepinephrine
The adrenal medulla releases epinephrine and norepinephrine, catecholamines that enhance and extend the sympathetic or "fight or flight" physiological response. These hormones escalate heart rate and the force of contraction...
01:26Testosterone: Functions and Regulation
01:27Psychoneuroimmunology: Cardiovascular Disease
A key area of focus in PNI is the relationship between stress and coronary...