Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections and Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Transgender Persons: A Systematic Review.

Olivia T Van Gerwen,Aditi Jani,Christina A Muzny,Erika L Austin,Dustin M Long,Karen Musgrove

doi:10.1089/trgh.2019.0053

Olivia T Van Gerwen, Aditi Jani + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2019.0053

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Abstract

Purpose: Despite reportedly high rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among transgender people, laboratory-proven prevalence of these infections in this population has not been systematically reviewed. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the medical literature involving laboratory-proven HIV and STI diagnoses among transgender people.Methods: A systematic review of the English literature regarding laboratory-proven HIV and/or STI testing in transgender populations within the last 50 years was performed. Preliminary meta-analyses assessing the prevalence of HIV and STIs among both transgender men and transgender women were performed. Given the heterogeneity of included studies, these analyses were difficult to interpret and not included in our results.Results: Our literature review identified 25 studies, representing 11 countries. All of these studies included transgender women, with 9 (36%) including data on transgender men. HIV was the most commonly studied STI, with prevalence ranging from 0% to 49.6% in transgender women and 0% to 8.3% in transgender men. For syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, respectively, prevalence ranged from 1.4% to 50.4%, 2.1% to 19.1%, and 2.7% to 24.7% in transgender women and from 0% to 4.2%, 0% to 10.5%, and 1.2% to 11.1% in transgender men. Site-specific testing practices for gonorrhea and chlamydia were variable. No studies reported prevalence data on trichomoniasis.Conclusion: The literature describing STIs and transgender people primarily focuses on transgender women and HIV. Data involving HIV and STIs among transgender men are lacking. These findings highlight opportunities for the future study of epidemiology of HIV/STIs in transgender men and the relevance of STIs in transgender people.

Highlights

While it is estimated that 1.4 million adults in the UnitedStates identify as transgender, this population continues to be marginalized and underresearched.[1]
Search strategy To compile a list of publications for possible inclusion in this systematic review of the literature, we searched the electronic databases of PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, and Scopus for articles pertaining to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infections (STIs) prevalence in the transgender population using the following search terms: transgender, male-to-female, female-to-male, MTF, FTM, STI, STD, sexually transmitted infection, and sexually transmitted disease
Currently, the literature involving STIs in transgender people is primarily focused on the trans feminine community and testing for HIV

Summary

Introduction

While it is estimated that 1.4 million adults in the UnitedStates identify as transgender, this population continues to be marginalized and underresearched.[1]. While it is estimated that 1.4 million adults in the United. Well studied is HIV in the trans feminine population.[6,7,8,9,10] For transgender women, HIV rates are a Olivia T.

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