Characterizing Dermatological Conditions in the Transgender Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

January 2022 in “ Transgender health ”

Suthinee Rutnin, Poonkiat Suchonwanit, Chaninan Kositkuljorn, Cherrin Pomsoong, Sira Korpaisarn, Jiraporn Arunakul, Teerapong Rattananukrom

gender-affirming hormone therapy GAHT acne testosterone therapy hair growth hair loss scalp hirsutism male pattern hair loss MPHL female pattern hair loss FPHL hormone therapy testosterone male pattern baldness female pattern baldness

Studysummary This study found that gender-affirming hormone therapy in transgender men increased acne and male pattern hair loss, while in transgender women, it led to melasma and female pattern hair loss. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

A cross-sectional study at Mahidol University, Thailand, involving 159 transgender individuals, investigated the effects of gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) on skin conditions. The study found that GAHT led to an increase in acne in both transgender men (TM) and transgender women (TW), with facial acne in TM increasing from 28.4% to 87.5% after 6 months of GAHT. Testosterone therapy stimulated hair growth on the face and body but caused hair loss on the scalp in TM. In TW, the severity of hirsutism decreased after 6 months of GAHT. The study also found that the duration of testosterone therapy was a predictive risk factor for male pattern hair loss (MPHL) in TM. Both TM and TW experienced a mixed MPHL-FPHL-type hair loss, with the proportion of female pattern hair loss (FPHL) increasing from 0% to 16%. The study concluded that transgender individuals may face specific dermatological conditions due to the transitioning process.

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