A shocking new study out of Denmark has revealed several significant and potentially life-threatening consequences of taking cross-sex hormones. The study, published in the European Journal of Endocrinology, found that trans-identified males using cross-sex hormones have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high blood fat and cholesterol levels.
According to the Telegraph, researchers analyzed the health of over 2,600 transgender people aged 22-26 from Denmark over five years. The study found that the trans-identified males who took estrogen were “93 per cent more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease than men and 73 per cent more likely than women.”
The study, which compared the incidence of heart failure to a control group of nearly 27,000 people, also found that trans-identified females who took testosterone “were 63 per cent more likely to have some form of heart disease than women, and more than double as likely than men.” In addition, researchers suggest trans-identified females are also at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Dorte Glintborg, the lead author of the study from Odense University Hospital in Denmark, said: “Hormone treatments such as [estrogen] will increase fat mass and lower lean body mass, and increased [estrogen] is usually associated with increased risk of autoimmune disease and inflammation.”
The study’s shocking results come at the heels of similar research conducted by scientists at Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Darby, Pennsylvania, last winter. After studying the health records of 21,000 people “suffering with gender dysphoria,” scientists found that 1,675 people taking hormones were seven times more likely to suffer from a stroke.
Researchers compared the cardiovascular outcomes in trans people taking cross-sex hormones with trans people not taking them. Although there was no increased risk of death, the study learned that there was a higher likelihood of developing blood clots.
“Starting transitioning is a big part of a person’s life and helping them feel more themselves, but hormone replacement therapy also has a lot of side effects – it’s not a risk-free endeavor,” said the lead author of the study, Dr. Ibrahim Ahmed.
“It is also important that people considering this therapy are made aware of all the risks,” he added.
News of the study’s results disturbed many online, who are calling for an end to doctors experimenting on people’s bodies.
One X (formerly Twitter) user who goes by the handle @Vox_Oculi said: “I long for the day where this body [modification] experimentation of vanity is officially considered malpractice.”
Others, like @DrMcThickens, a self-described medical student, responded to the study by recounting his experience with patients on cross-sex hormones.
“Genuinely reflects my experience clinically,” he wrote. “In fact, yesterday, had another 20-something female who was actually *THIN* with a low BMI who had the most atrocious lipid panel. All I can think about is her arteries being coated in cholesterol in her early 20s… just wild to see!”
Although Dr. Dorte Glintborg concluded the results of these studies are not “clear cut,” she is calling for more research to be conducted to properly understand the effects these medications have on the health of transgender people.
