Glucose Homeostasis, Diabetes Mellitus, and Gender-Affirming Treatment
The transgender (trans) population includes individuals with gender identities more fittingly aligned with the opposite sex or with an alternative that transcends the classical dipole of male/female. Hormonal treatment in transgender individuals aims to suppress the secretion of endogenous sex stero...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Biomedicines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/3/670 |
| _version_ | 1827751146080436224 |
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| author | Charalampos Milionis Ioannis Ilias Evangelia Venaki Eftychia Koukkou |
| author_facet | Charalampos Milionis Ioannis Ilias Evangelia Venaki Eftychia Koukkou |
| author_sort | Charalampos Milionis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The transgender (trans) population includes individuals with gender identities more fittingly aligned with the opposite sex or with an alternative that transcends the classical dipole of male/female. Hormonal treatment in transgender individuals aims to suppress the secretion of endogenous sex steroids and replace them with the steroids of the desired gender. The mainstay of gender-affirming treatment in transgender males is testosterone, whereas for transgender females it is estrogen, usually combined with an anti-androgen or a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist if testes are present. Testosterone and estrogen are involved in carbohydrate metabolism via direct effects on skeletal muscle, liver, adipose tissue, and immune cells and indirectly through changes in body fat mass and distribution. The effect of transgender treatment on glucose tolerance is not clear. The provided conflicting results demonstrate a positive, neutral, or even negative association between exogenous testosterone and insulin sensitivity in trans men. Studies show that feminizing hormonal therapy of trans women has mainly an aggravating effect on insulin sensitivity. The existing evidence is not robust and further research is needed to investigate the relationships between body fat distributions, muscle mass, and glycemia/insulin resistance in transgender people under hormonal therapy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:54:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-19e2a1ca23ac43cbae13902e486d67bf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9059 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:54:11Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomedicines |
| spelling | doaj.art-19e2a1ca23ac43cbae13902e486d67bf2023-11-17T09:43:53ZengMDPI AGBiomedicines2227-90592023-02-0111367010.3390/biomedicines11030670Glucose Homeostasis, Diabetes Mellitus, and Gender-Affirming TreatmentCharalampos Milionis0Ioannis Ilias1Evangelia Venaki2Eftychia Koukkou3Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Elena Venizelou General and Maternity Hospital, GR-11521 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Elena Venizelou General and Maternity Hospital, GR-11521 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Elena Venizelou General and Maternity Hospital, GR-11521 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Elena Venizelou General and Maternity Hospital, GR-11521 Athens, GreeceThe transgender (trans) population includes individuals with gender identities more fittingly aligned with the opposite sex or with an alternative that transcends the classical dipole of male/female. Hormonal treatment in transgender individuals aims to suppress the secretion of endogenous sex steroids and replace them with the steroids of the desired gender. The mainstay of gender-affirming treatment in transgender males is testosterone, whereas for transgender females it is estrogen, usually combined with an anti-androgen or a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist if testes are present. Testosterone and estrogen are involved in carbohydrate metabolism via direct effects on skeletal muscle, liver, adipose tissue, and immune cells and indirectly through changes in body fat mass and distribution. The effect of transgender treatment on glucose tolerance is not clear. The provided conflicting results demonstrate a positive, neutral, or even negative association between exogenous testosterone and insulin sensitivity in trans men. Studies show that feminizing hormonal therapy of trans women has mainly an aggravating effect on insulin sensitivity. The existing evidence is not robust and further research is needed to investigate the relationships between body fat distributions, muscle mass, and glycemia/insulin resistance in transgender people under hormonal therapy.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/3/670glycemiatype 2 diabetesinsulin resistancepathophysiologytransgender personstestosterone |
| spellingShingle | Charalampos Milionis Ioannis Ilias Evangelia Venaki Eftychia Koukkou Glucose Homeostasis, Diabetes Mellitus, and Gender-Affirming Treatment Biomedicines glycemia type 2 diabetes insulin resistance pathophysiology transgender persons testosterone |
| title | Glucose Homeostasis, Diabetes Mellitus, and Gender-Affirming Treatment |
| title_full | Glucose Homeostasis, Diabetes Mellitus, and Gender-Affirming Treatment |
| title_fullStr | Glucose Homeostasis, Diabetes Mellitus, and Gender-Affirming Treatment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Glucose Homeostasis, Diabetes Mellitus, and Gender-Affirming Treatment |
| title_short | Glucose Homeostasis, Diabetes Mellitus, and Gender-Affirming Treatment |
| title_sort | glucose homeostasis diabetes mellitus and gender affirming treatment |
| topic | glycemia type 2 diabetes insulin resistance pathophysiology transgender persons testosterone |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/3/670 |
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