Testosterone therapy associated with BMI increase in transgender males: Study

USA: Transgender males who received testosterone therapy experience a significant increase in BMI over time as compared to cisgender females, finds a recent study in the journal Transgender Health. Also, there was a decrease in high-density lipoprotein in the transgender males.

Anna Valentine, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA, and colleagues aimed to determine changes in metabolic parameters in transgender youth on testosterone therapy in comparison with cisgender females. 

For the purpose, the researchers conducted a retrospective study with a cohort of transgender males (aged 14 to 21 years) from a large pediatric academic center serving transgender and gender-diverse youths. 

All the participants were on testosterone therapy from 2014 to 2018 and were seen at least twice during that period. Changes in the BMI in the transgender male cohort were compared with a cohort of cisgender females of the same age range. The female participants had no chronic conditions and were matched by initial BMI to the pre-testosterone BMI of the transgender male cohort. The changes in BMI was presented as a percentile in the study using the CDC's growth charts from 2000.