Sudden sex hormone withdrawal and the effects on body composition in late pubertal adolescents with gender dysphoria
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Rahul Ghelani
Abstract
Background
Sex hormones initiate profound physical and physiological changes during the pubertal process, but to what extent are they responsible for continuing the body composition changes of late adolescence and what happens to body composition on sudden sex hormone withdrawal?
Methods
Thirty-six healthy, phenotypically and chromosomally normal late and post-pubertal individuals aged 15–17 years with gender dysphoria (transgirls – birth-registered males identifying as female n = 11; and transboys – birth-registered females identifying as male n = 25) underwent Tanita body composition analysis at 0, 6 and 12 months during reproductive hormone suppression with Triptorelin as part of the standard therapeutic protocol.
Results and conclusions
In the transgirl cohort, paired t-test analysis demonstrated a significant decrease in height and lean mass standard deviation scores over the 12-month period, going against an expected trajectory over that time. In contrast, oestrogen suppression appeared not to affect the body composition of transboys; their measurements were not significantly different at baseline and after 12 months of treatment. The withdrawal of sex hormone secretion does not appear to have a significant impact on female post-pubertal body composition, in contrast to that seen at the menopause. This suggests that other factors may preserve normal body balance in adolescents in the absence of sex steroids.
Acknowledgments
We thank the team members from the national Gender Identity Development Service; we also thank Kirpal Adu-Gyamfi and other outpatient staff members for performing the auxological assessments.
Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: This project was conducted as part of a UCL Medical School academic programme.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing interests: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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©2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Inborn errors of metabolism
- Reviews
- Nutrition and medical support during pregnancy and lactation in women with inborn errors of intermediary metabolism disorders (IEMDs)
- The association between prenatal exposure to organochlorine compounds and neonatal thyroid hormone levels: a systematic review
- Original Articles
- Investigating the incidence rate and geographical distribution of congenital hypothyroidism among neonates in Isfahan province using geographic information system (GIS) between 2002 and 2015
- Analysis of five cases of hypermethioninemia diagnosed by neonatal screening
- What is the evidence for beneficial effects of growth hormone treatment beyond height in short children born small for gestational age? A review of published literature
- Machine learning-based prediction of response to growth hormone treatment in Turner syndrome: the LG Growth Study
- Pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants in the SHOX, GHR and IGFALS genes among Indian children with idiopathic short stature
- Celiac disease in Saudi children with isolated short stature: is it rare or are we not screening rigorously enough?
- The beneficial effect of psychological support on mothers with PKU children who suffer from social discrimination and damage of quality of life
- Long-term effects of GnRH agonist treatment on body mass index in girls with idiopathic central precocious puberty
- Sudden sex hormone withdrawal and the effects on body composition in late pubertal adolescents with gender dysphoria
- The alteration of IGF-1 levels and relationship between IGF-1 levels and growth velocity during GnRH analogue therapy
- BMI relationship to the onset of puberty: assessment of growth parameters and sexual maturity changes in Egyptian children and adolescents of both sexes
- The effects of a 12-week jump rope exercise program on body composition, insulin sensitivity, and academic self-efficacy in obese adolescent girls
- Onset of pituitary hormone deficiencies in optic nerve hypoplasia: a temporal trend analysis of 32 children at Mayo Clinic
- Dietary practices in methylmalonic acidaemia: a European survey
- Case Reports
- Clinical findings in five Turkish patients with citrin deficiency and identification of a novel mutation on SLC25A13
- A rare case of primary coenzyme Q10 deficiency due to COQ9 mutation
- Sinusitis, an under-reported adverse effect in children treated with radioactive iodine therapy and review of the current literature
- Acknowledgment
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Inborn errors of metabolism
- Reviews
- Nutrition and medical support during pregnancy and lactation in women with inborn errors of intermediary metabolism disorders (IEMDs)
- The association between prenatal exposure to organochlorine compounds and neonatal thyroid hormone levels: a systematic review
- Original Articles
- Investigating the incidence rate and geographical distribution of congenital hypothyroidism among neonates in Isfahan province using geographic information system (GIS) between 2002 and 2015
- Analysis of five cases of hypermethioninemia diagnosed by neonatal screening
- What is the evidence for beneficial effects of growth hormone treatment beyond height in short children born small for gestational age? A review of published literature
- Machine learning-based prediction of response to growth hormone treatment in Turner syndrome: the LG Growth Study
- Pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants in the SHOX, GHR and IGFALS genes among Indian children with idiopathic short stature
- Celiac disease in Saudi children with isolated short stature: is it rare or are we not screening rigorously enough?
- The beneficial effect of psychological support on mothers with PKU children who suffer from social discrimination and damage of quality of life
- Long-term effects of GnRH agonist treatment on body mass index in girls with idiopathic central precocious puberty
- Sudden sex hormone withdrawal and the effects on body composition in late pubertal adolescents with gender dysphoria
- The alteration of IGF-1 levels and relationship between IGF-1 levels and growth velocity during GnRH analogue therapy
- BMI relationship to the onset of puberty: assessment of growth parameters and sexual maturity changes in Egyptian children and adolescents of both sexes
- The effects of a 12-week jump rope exercise program on body composition, insulin sensitivity, and academic self-efficacy in obese adolescent girls
- Onset of pituitary hormone deficiencies in optic nerve hypoplasia: a temporal trend analysis of 32 children at Mayo Clinic
- Dietary practices in methylmalonic acidaemia: a European survey
- Case Reports
- Clinical findings in five Turkish patients with citrin deficiency and identification of a novel mutation on SLC25A13
- A rare case of primary coenzyme Q10 deficiency due to COQ9 mutation
- Sinusitis, an under-reported adverse effect in children treated with radioactive iodine therapy and review of the current literature
- Acknowledgment
