Van den Bosch M F, Wiepjes C M, Den Heijer M, Schoonmade L J, Jonkman R E G, Meursinge Reynders R A
Department of Orthodontics, Academisch Centrum Tandheelkunde Amsterdam (ACTA), Gustav Mahlerlaan 3004, 1081 LA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Department of Internal Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Center (Amsterdam UMC), Location VUMC, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Syst Rev. 2021 Apr 14;10(1):109. doi: 10.1186/s13643-021-01668-8.
Gender-affirming hormone (GAH) therapy aims to support the transition of transgender people to their gender identity. GAHs can induce changes in their secondary sex characteristics such as the development of breasts in transgender females and increased muscle mass in transgender males. The face and its surrounding tissues also have an important role in gender confirmation. The aim of this scoping review is to systematically map the available evidence in order to provide an overview of the effects of GAH therapy on the hard and soft tissues of the craniofacial complex in transgender people.
METHODS/DESIGN: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols (PRISMA) extension for Scoping Reviews was consulted for reporting this protocol. The methods were based on the Arksey and O'Malley's framework and the Reviewer's Manual of the Joanna Briggs Institute for conducting scoping reviews. Ten transgender people were involved in the development of the primary research question through short interviews. The eligibility criteria were defined for transgender people undergoing GAH therapy and for quantitative and qualitative outcomes on the hard and soft tissues of the craniofacial complex. Eligible sources of evidence include observational, experimental, qualitative, and mixed method studies. No exclusion criteria will be applied for the language of publication and the setting. To identify eligible sources of evidence, we will conduct searches from inception onwards in PubMed, Embase.com , the Cochrane Library, Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, CINAHL, LIVIVO, and various grey literature sources such as Google Scholar. Two reviewers will independently select eligible studies in these information sources and will subsequently conduct data extraction. The same operators will chart, categorize, and summarize the extracted data. A narrative summary of findings will be conducted. Frequency counts of quantitative and qualitative data on items such as concepts, populations, interventions, and other characteristics of the eligible sources will be given. Where possible, these items will be mapped descriptively.
We chose the scoping review over the systematic review approach, because the research questions are broad-spectrum and the literature is expected to be widely scattered. No systematic review has previously assessed this topic. Identifying knowledge gaps in this area and summarizing and disseminating research findings are important for a wide spectrum of stakeholders, in particular, for transgender people who want to undergo additional interventions such as plastic or orthognathic surgery or orthodontics.
This protocol was registered in the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/e3qj6.
性别确认激素（GAH）疗法旨在支持跨性别者向其性别认同转变。GAH可诱导其第二性征发生变化，如跨性别女性乳房发育、跨性别男性肌肉量增加。面部及其周围组织在性别确认中也起着重要作用。本范围综述的目的是系统梳理现有证据，以概述GAH疗法对跨性别者颅面复合体软硬组织的影响。
方法/设计：本方案报告参考了系统评价与Meta分析方案的首选报告项目（PRISMA）扩展版中关于范围综述的内容。方法基于阿克斯和奥马利的框架以及乔安娜·布里格斯研究所进行范围综述的评审手册。通过简短访谈，10名跨性别者参与了主要研究问题的制定。为接受GAH疗法的跨性别者以及颅面复合体软硬组织的定量和定性结果定义了纳入标准。符合条件的证据来源包括观察性、实验性、定性和混合方法研究。对于发表语言和研究背景不设排除标准。为识别符合条件的证据来源，我们将从创刊起在PubMed、Embase.com、考克兰图书馆、科学引文索引核心合集、Scopus、护理学与健康领域数据库、LIVIVO以及各种灰色文献来源（如谷歌学术）中进行检索。两名评审员将独立在这些信息来源中选择符合条件的研究，随后进行数据提取。相同的操作人员将对提取的数据进行图表绘制、分类和总结。将对研究结果进行叙述性总结。将给出符合条件来源在概念、人群、干预措施和其他特征等项目上的定量和定性数据的频数统计。在可能的情况下，将对这些项目进行描述性映射。
我们选择范围综述而非系统评价方法，是因为研究问题具有广谱性且文献预计分布广泛。此前尚无系统评价评估过该主题。识别该领域的知识空白并总结和传播研究结果对广泛的利益相关者很重要，特别是对于那些想要接受额外干预（如整形或正颌手术或正畸治疗）的跨性别者。
本方案已在开放科学框架中注册：https://osf.io/e3qj6。
