Medical treatment in gender dysphoric adolescents endorsed by SIAMS–SIE–SIEDP–ONIG (original) (raw)
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In the Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, a structured assessment and treatment protocol for adolescents with atypical gender identities is used. This multidimensional approach includes specific phases: psychological assessment, medical evaluation, possible psychotherapy, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues and cross-sex hormone therapy, which are differentiated according to age and specific requirements of each individual case. Recently, a collaborative study called AGIR (Adolescent Gender Identity Research) has been proposed by the Dutch clinic to allow international and cross-clinic comparisons with regards to referral background and psychological functioning, and to evaluate the treatment of gender dysphoric adolescents. An extensive assessment and timely treatment of adolescents with gender dysphoria seems essential to support the process of awareness and structuring of the dimensions of sexual identity, to prevent frequent associated psychopathologies and to improve quality of life by promoting more adequate psychosocial adaptation. Currently, transgender health care in Italy is characterized by isolated practitioners. Thus, it is particularly important to create specialised services that use a common protocol and that are coordinated at both the national and international levels in order to respond to the increasing number of requests in this age group.
The role of the pediatrician in the management of the child and adolescent with gender dysphoria
Italian Journal of Pediatrics
Gender dysphoria is a clinical condition characterized by significant distress due to the discordance between biological sex and gender identity. Currently, gender dysphoria is also found more frequently in children and adolescents, thanks to greater social sensibleness and new therapeutic possibilities. In fact, it is estimated that the prevalence of gender dysphoria in pediatric age is between 0.5% and 2% based on the statistics of the various countries. Therefore, the pediatrician cannot fail to update himself on these issues and above all should be the reference figure in the management of these patients. Even if the patient must be directed to a referral center and be followed up by a multidisciplinary team, the treating pediatrician will care to coordinate the clinical and therapeutic framework. The aim of the present report is therefore to integrate literature data with our clinical experience to propose a new clinical approach in which the pediatrician should be the referenc...
European Journal of Endocrinology, 2006
Treatment outcome in transsexuals is expected to be more favourable when puberty is suppressed than when treatment is started after Tanner stage 4 or 5. In the Dutch protocol for the treatment of transsexual adolescents, candidates are considered eligible for the suppression of endogenous puberty when they fulfil the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-RT criteria for gender disorder, have suffered from lifelong extreme gender dysphoria, are psychologically stable and live in a supportive environment. Suppression of puberty should be considered as supporting the diagnostic procedure, but not as the ultimate treatment. If the patient, after extensive exploring of his/her sex reassignment (SR) wish, no longer pursues SR, pubertal suppression can be discontinued. Otherwise, cross-sex hormone treatment can be given at 16 years, if there are no contraindications. Treatment consists of a GnRH analogue (GnRHa) to suppress endogenous gonadal stimulation from B2-3 and G3-4, and prevents development of irreversible sex characteristics of the unwanted sex. From the age of 16 years, cross-sex steroid hormones are added to the GnRHa medication.
Psychological characteristics of Italian gender dysphoric adolescents: a case–control study
Journal of Endocrinological Investigation, 2017
Methods A sample of 46 adolescents with GD and 46 agematched NRs was evaluated (mean ± SD age = 16.00 ± 1.49 and 16.59 ± 1.11 respectively, p > 0.05). Subjects were asked to complete the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT) to explore body uneasiness, the Youth Self Report (YSR) to measure psychological functioning, the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale (MAST) for suicide risk, and the Gender Identity/Gender Dysphoria Questionnaire for Adolescents and Adults (GIDYQ-AA) for GD assessment. Results Adolescents with GD reported significantly higher levels of body uneasiness (BUT-GSI, F = 380.13, p < 0.0001), as well as a worse psychological functioning (YSR, F = 13.06 and p < 0.0001 for "total problem scale" Abstract Purpose Gender dysphoria (GD) is associated with clinically significant distress and impairment in social, scholastic, and other important areas of functioning, especially when early onset is reported. The aim of the present study is to assess the psychopathological features associated with GD in adolescence, comparing a group of gender dysphoric adolescents (GDs) with a group of non-referred adolescents (NRs), in terms of body uneasiness, suicide risk, psychological functioning, and intensity of GD.
Puberty suppression in gender identity disorder: the Amsterdam experience
Nature reviews. Endocrinology, 2011
The use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs (GnRHa) to suppress puberty in adolescents with gender dysphoria is a fairly new intervention in the field of gender identity disorders or transsexualism. GnRHa are used to give adolescents time to make balanced decisions on any further treatment steps, and to obtain improved results in the physical appearance of those who opt to continue with sex reassignment. The effects of GnRHa are reversible. However, concerns have been raised about the risk of making the wrong treatment decisions, as gender identity could fluctuate during adolescence, adolescents in general might have poor decision-making abilities, and there are potential adverse effects on health and on psychological and psychosexual functioning. Proponents of puberty suppression emphasize the beneficial effects of GnRHa on the adolescents' mental health, quality of life and of having a physical appearance that makes it possible for the patients to live unobtrusively in t...