Transfeminine Hormone Therapy

Oksana Hamidi; Caroline J Davidge-Pitts

doi:10.1016/j.ecl.2019.02.001

Transfeminine Hormone Therapy

Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2019 Jun;48(2):341-355. doi: 10.1016/j.ecl.2019.02.001. Epub 2019 Mar 23.

Authors

Oksana Hamidi¹, Caroline J Davidge-Pitts²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 2001 Inwood Road, Dallas, TX 75235, USA.
² Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street Southwest, Rochester, MN 55902, USA. Electronic address: Davidge-Pitts.Caroline@mayo.edu.

PMID: 31027544
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecl.2019.02.001

Abstract

Transgender women often seek hormone therapy to attain feminine physical features congruent with their gender identity. The aim of feminizing hormone therapy (FHT) is to provide suppression of endogenous testosterone and to maintain estradiol levels within the normal female range. Overall, FHT is safe if provided under supervision of an experienced health care provider and has been shown to improve quality of life. Data on care of transgender women are scarce and high-quality evidence-based recommendations are lacking. This article aims to review the published literature on FHT and provide guidance to clinicians caring for transgender women.

Keywords: Anti-androgen; Estrogen; Gender dysphoria; Gender incongruence; Gender-affirming hormone therapy; Transgender male-to-female.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Androgen Antagonists* / adverse effects
Androgen Antagonists* / therapeutic use
Estrogen Replacement Therapy* / adverse effects
Gender Dysphoria* / drug therapy
Gender Dysphoria* / metabolism
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone* / adverse effects
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone* / analysis
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone* / therapeutic use
Humans
Transsexualism* / drug therapy
Transsexualism* / metabolism

Substances

Androgen Antagonists
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone