Cross-sectional comparison of cardiometabolic markers in transgender men receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy.

OBJECTIVE

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the most common cause of death in the world. A number of scoring systems have been proposed to predict CVD risk. In this study, we aimed to assess the cardiovascular risk scores of transgender men receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT).

METHODS

A total of 73 participants were included in this cross-sectional study: 43 transgender men, 15 cisgender men, and 15 cisgender women. For each participant, sociodemographic data were collected, glucose, lipid profiles and total testosterone levels were measured and the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) and visceral adiposity index (VAI) were calculated.

RESULTS

The mean age of transgender men was 29.1 ±5.7. The neck circumference (NC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and Waist-to-Height Ratio (WtHR) of transgender men was statistically higher than that of cis-women (p < 0.001, for all). Also, AIP was significantly higher in transgender men compared to cis- women (p = 0.003).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, transgender men receiving GAHT exhibited differences in several cardiometabolic and anthropometric markers compared with cisgender women, with a profile more closely resembling that of cisgender men. These findings should be interpreted as descriptive differences rather than evidence of increased cardiovascular risk, particularly in the context of a cross-sectional design. The observed reduction in HDL cholesterol may be of clinical interest. Further longitudinal studies are warranted to better elucidate the long-term cardiometabolic effects of GAHT.