Summary
This short report used records from the Amsterdam gender clinic, which treats most trans people in the Netherlands. It counted strokes, heart attacks and blood clots in nearly 3,900 people on cross-sex hormones over about 8 to 9 years, and compared them with expected rates in the general population. Trans women had about 4.5 to 5.5 times the expected rate of blood clots and about twice the expected rate of stroke, and more heart attacks than women (but not men). Trans men had more heart attacks than women but about the same as men. Blood-clot risk was lower, though still raised, in trans women who started after 2001, when an older estrogen was dropped. The long follow-up makes this useful, but the comparison is with outside population figures, smoking was not accounted for, and the trans men's results rest on few events.
Key findings
- Studi ini mencakup 2.517 wanita trans dan 1.358 pria trans yang dirawat di klinik gender Amsterdam, diikuti rata-rata sekitar 9 dan 8 tahun.
- Wanita trans mengalami 73 bekuan darah di pembuluh vena: 5,5 kali angka yang diharapkan pada perempuan dan 4,5 kali pada laki-laki.
- Wanita trans mengalami 29 stroke (2,4 kali angka pada perempuan, 1,8 kali pada laki-laki) dan 30 serangan jantung (2,6 kali angka pada perempuan; tidak lebih tinggi daripada laki-laki).
- Pria trans mengalami 11 serangan jantung: 3,7 kali angka yang diharapkan pada perempuan dan sama dengan yang diharapkan pada laki-laki.
- Pria trans hanya mengalami 6 stroke dan 2 bekuan darah, tanpa perbedaan yang jelas dari laki-laki maupun perempuan.
- Mengecualikan wanita trans yang memulai sebelum 2001 (ketika estrogen lama, ethinylestradiol, diganti) menurunkan angka bekuan darah menjadi sekitar 3,9 kali angka perempuan dan 3,4 kali laki-laki; risiko lain tidak turun.
- Sebanyak 43–46% orang dalam studi merokok, dan hal ini tidak dapat diperhitungkan.
Conclusion
Considering the limitations, the authors conclude that the incidences of strokes and VTEs are higher in transwomen receiving hormone therapy than in both reference women and men, and that transwomen and transmen receiving hormone therapy are at higher risk of myocardial infarction than reference women. They urge physicians and transgender individuals to be aware of this increased cardiovascular risk and to reduce risk factors such as smoking.