A communication presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology (ECE2024, Stockholm) has analysed the over-representation of adopted people among those seeking gender-affirming hormone treatment, as well as their psychosocial profile.
The context
Previous studies by the same centre (Tel Aviv, Israel) had already found that adopted people are significantly over-represented in the gender identity clinic, suggesting that early life experiences could influence the development of gender incongruence.
The study
Between 2014 and 2022, 671 adults started gender-affirming hormone treatment at the centre, of whom 14 were adopted (2.09%). They were compared with non-adopted controls matched for age and sex assigned at birth.
Findings
Adopted people showed a more fragile psychosocial profile despite coming from families with a higher socioeconomic status: none had a university education (versus 28.3% of controls), they presented more psychiatric comorbidity, and they smoked more and used more cannabis.
The authors conclude that adopted people are not only over-represented among the population with gender incongruence who seek treatment, but also have a greater psychosocial vulnerability that should be addressed clinically.
Bibliographic reference: Yaish I., Greenman Y., Tordjman K. Adopted transgender subjects are over represented and have a different psychosocial profile than their non-adopted counterparts: a case-control study. Endocrine Abstracts (2024) 99, P144. DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.99.P144 (ECE2024).
Read the publication: Abstract in Endocrine Abstracts
