Abstract

SANCHEZ, Sixto; CASQUERO, Jorge; CHAVEZ, Susana  and  LIENDO, George. Characteristics and effects of female hormones used by male transsexuals in Lima, Peru. An. Fac. med. [online]. 2014, vol.75, n.4, pp.313-318. ISSN 1025-5583.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15381/anales.v75i4.10844.

Introduction: In the feminization process, some male transsexuals use synthetic female hormones whose safety has not been defined in genetically male persons. Objectives: To evaluate the degree of knowledge, frequency of use, type of administration, adverse effects and source of information on female hormones in male transsexual persons. Design: Qualitative and quantitative community prospective study. Place: Lima. Participants: Male transsexuals 18 years old or older who had been using female hormones for 6 months or more. Interventions: Four trained male transsexuals identified new male transsexuals by the ‘snow ball’ method. Then, subjects were interviewed, underwent physical examination, and a 10 mL blood sample was obtained. Main outcome measures: Level of knowledge, quality of information received, acquisition source, and side effects of female hormones. Results: Only 11.8% of the participants obtained the hormones by medical prescription and had some knowledge about their effects. Most common side effects were breast tenderness and weight gain (88.2%), and decline of libido and erection (58.8%). A combination of dihydroxyprogesterone plus estriol IM was the most common female hormone used (47.1%). Conclusions: Implementation of multidisciplinary services that meet this population health needs is necessary to decrease risks.

Keywords : Transsexualism; feminization; gonadal steroid hormones.

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