Age-Related Differences for Male-to-Female Transgender Patients Undergoing Gender-Affirming Surgery
January 2019
in “
Sexual Medicine
”
TLDR Younger transgender women have surgery earlier, are mostly attracted to men, and show more preoperative depression that improves after surgery compared to older transgender women.
The study from 2019 with 40 participants examined age-related differences in male-to-female (MtF) transgender patients undergoing gender-affirming surgery (GAS). It identified two distinct subgroups based on the age of onset of gender dysphoria: those who experienced it before 17 years of age and those who experienced it at 18 or older. The younger group underwent GAS at a mean age of 32.7 years and were mostly attracted to men, while the older group had GAS at a mean age of 43.8 years and were more often attracted to women or both genders. The younger patients also had higher preoperative depressive symptoms, which resolved after surgery, and were more sexually active postoperatively. These findings suggest that treatment for transgender individuals could be improved by considering their age of dysphoria onset and sexual orientation. However, the study's limitations include its small sample size and its single-location setting in Germany.
