Abstract
BackgroundPopulation heterogeneity and the lack of clinical and sociodemographic information in transgender individuals with gender dysphoria (GD) remains a challenge for specialized services in mental health and surgical procedures. It aimed to identify and describe profiles in a sample waiting for gender-affirming surgery.MethodsA sample of 100 outpatients with GD was assessed through a structured interview, Emotion Regulation Difficulty Scale (DERS), Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Life Satisfaction scale (SWLS). Cluster analysis was used to identify different profile categories.ResultsTwo subgroups with different profiles were identified: with less clinical severity (LCS) and with high clinical severity (HCS) on emotional dysregulation, acute symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and association with mental rumination. The HCS cluster had greater vulnerability in terms of psychiatric history, use of psychotropic drugs, HIV positive, child abuse and suicidal behavior.ConclusionDifferent profiles were found regarding the vulnerability to mental health in a sample of transgender people with GD who seek a public hospital service for the same clinical-surgical objective. Longitudinal studies are essential to monitor the impact of these contrasts and to target personalized therapeutic approaches in the prevention of psychiatric disorders.
Highlights
Population heterogeneity and the lack of clinical and sociodemographic information in transgender individuals with gender dysphoria (GD) remains a challenge for specialized services in mental health and surgical procedures
The anguish and suffering experienced by many transgender individuals as a result of the incongruence between their assigned sex at birth and their current gender identity is clinically defined as gender dysphoria (GD) [1]
There is variation in the outcomes of interest reported by GD individuals and numerous sociodemographic and institutional factors may play as barriers in accessing health services specialized healthcare [1, 5, 6]
Summary
Population heterogeneity and the lack of clinical and sociodemographic information in transgender individuals with gender dysphoria (GD) remains a challenge for specialized services in mental health and surgical procedures. It aimed to identify and describe profiles in a sample waiting for gender-affirming surgery. In Brazil, there is a lack of information on transgender and gender-nonconforming people estimates and. There are numerous limitations in tracing a GD epidemiological profile and estimating the need for specialized health services (especially involving surgical interventions) such as: terminological variability in describing transgender identities, different medical and surgical procedures are offered to individuals with GD globally [3]. National studies endorse the importance of specialized care for this population, ranging from expanding care on risk factors for contracting sexually transmitted infections [8], minimizing impacts of traumatic events in childhood, studies on voice therapy, hormonal treatment [9], and impacts on quality of life after gender-affirming surgery [10]
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