New studies, eating disorder and a new book

Heya everybody,

Finally I have started on working on my huge number of links that have been piling up since my last update! I just hope I’ll get everything done before the summer holidays. For a start, here are some news items and new studies:

• Witcomb, Bouman et al. published a large study (European Eating Disorders Review, 2015) that compared transsexuals to people with eating disorders and a control group. It was found that transsexuals were dissatisfied with body shape and weight. Especially transsexual males are at risk for eating disorders and other body-image-related behaviour.

• Widely reported in the media was an American study by Diemer, Grant et al. (Journal of Adolescent Health, 2015) that had similar findings. Diemer, Grant, et al. looked at a very large number of people (289 000 US college students), which included 479 transgender individuals. They found that transgender students had greater rates of eating disorders. For media reports, see here , here and here. Alexis E. Duncan, one of the authors, told the media that transsexuals may strive for thinness as an attempt to suppress features of their birth gender, or accentuate features of their self-identified gender. Monica Algars from Finland, who authored a previous study, said: Other potential explanations include minority stress due to stigma and discrimination and On a more positive note, many transgender people report that gender reassignment treatment can alleviate body dissatisfaction and eating (disorders).

• A somewhat weird study from India looked at differences of the palates (the roof of the mouth) of eunuchs, control males and control females for forensic purposes and found statistically significant variances. I’m not sure whether the study is of a good quality, nor do I know whether eunuchs in India can be equated to transsexuals (male-to-female, presumably), but I have included the study anyway (Saxena, Chandrashekhar, et al in the Journal of Forensic Dental Sciences, 2015).

• A Spanish expert working group (on gender identity and sexual development of the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition) has published a position statement (in Endocrinologia y Nutricion: Organo de la Sociedad Espanola de Endocrinologia y Nutricion, 2015) emphasising that diagnosis and comprehensive treatment of gender dysphoria are essential to improve quality of life and to decrease mental comorbidity.

• A Turkish study (Turan, Poyraz et al. in the Turkish Journal of Psychiatry, 2015) found some differences between male-to-female and female-to-male transsexuals. Social adjustment was lower for male-to-females, whereas females-to-males were more likely to receive medical treatment. The rate of undergoing sex reassignment surgery was higher for males-to-females.

A new book, Management of Gender Dysphoria: A Multidisciplinary Approach, discusses the current scientific status and view on the treatment of gender dysphoria. From the publisher’s abstract:

This book is especially focused on the surgical aspect on Gender Dysphoria. Male to female surgery is widely discussed as well as the female to male conversion. Full information on hormone administration and surgical procedures are provided. Mental health issues are also described, as well as ethics, the law and psychosocial issues. The text is extensively referenced and includes numerous photos, tables and figures to clearly illustrate information. Based on collaboration between international experts in transgender health, this book is an essential guide for health care professionals, educators, students, patients and patients’ families concerning the psychological, hormonal, surgical and social support of transgender individuals.

It’s published by Springer in 2015, edited by a team of urologists at the University of Trieste in Italy (Carlo Trombetta, Giovanni Liguori, Michele Bertolotto), and includes articles from well-known and leading scientists and researchers around the world.

Take care, more will follow soon!

Peace and Light ✨