Kokka Ioulia, Bacopoulou Flora, Chrousos George P, Michou Maria, Koukkou Eftychia, Milionis Charalampos, Mantzou Emily, Kontoaggelos Konstantinos, Papageorgiou Charalabos, Zervas Iannis, Kanaka-Gantenbein Christina, Mourikis Iraklis
Postgraduate Course on the Science of Stress and Health Promotion, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 4 Soranou Ephessiou Street, Athens 11527, Greece; First Department of Psychiatry, Eginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 72-74 Vas. Sophias Ave, Athens 11528, Greece.
Postgraduate Course on the Science of Stress and Health Promotion, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 4 Soranou Ephessiou Street, Athens 11527, Greece; Center for Adolescent Medicine and UNESCO Chair on Adolescent Health Care, First Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2025 Mar;173:107277. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107277. Epub 2024 Dec 31.
Despite considerable social progress, transgender people still face multiple chronic stressors. This study evaluated the allostatic load index and assessed specific psychological characteristics between transgender and cisgender participants who were matched based on age and assigned-at-birth gender. Twenty-one transgender people (52.3 % transgender women, mean age 22.7 years) and 21 cisgender people (52.3 % cisgender women, mean age 23.1 years) participated. For both groups, allostatic load was assessed using circulating serum biomarkers, and psychological characteristics using a battery of self-reports on perceived stress, anxiety, depressive symptomatology, and quality of life. Mann Whitney U and chi square tests were performed. The allostatic load index of transgender people was significantly higher compared to their cisgender counterparts (U = 62.00, p < 0.001), and significantly correlated (p < 0.05) with the majority of the assessed psychological characteristics for both cohorts. Between-group comparisons revealed greater perceived stress, higher state and trait anxiety scores, increased depressive symptomatology, and lower quality of life in all dimensions assessed (p < 0.001), except for the environmental conditions (p = 0.561). The findings underscore the potential physiological and psychological burden experienced by transgender compared to cisgender individuals, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions and inclusive policies to address these disparities. Cohort studies with larger samples are necessary to increase clinicians' insight regarding the pathophysiological challenges of transgender people.
尽管社会取得了长足进步，但跨性别者仍面临多种慢性应激源。本研究评估了跨性别者的累积负荷指数，并比较了年龄和出生时指定性别相匹配的跨性别参与者与顺性别参与者的特定心理特征。21名跨性别者（52.3%为跨性别女性，平均年龄22.7岁）和21名顺性别者（52.3%为顺性别女性，平均年龄23.1岁）参与了研究。两组均通过循环血清生物标志物评估累积负荷，通过一系列关于感知压力、焦虑、抑郁症状和生活质量的自我报告评估心理特征。进行了曼-惠特尼U检验和卡方检验。跨性别者的累积负荷指数显著高于顺性别者（U = 62.00，p < 0.001），且与两个队列中大多数评估的心理特征显著相关（p < 0.05）。组间比较显示，在所有评估维度（环境条件维度除外，p = 0.561）中，跨性别者感知到的压力更大、状态焦虑和特质焦虑得分更高、抑郁症状增加且生活质量更低（p < 0.001）。研究结果强调了跨性别者与顺性别者相比可能经历的生理和心理负担，强调需要有针对性的干预措施和包容性政策来解决这些差异。有必要开展更大样本量的队列研究，以增强临床医生对跨性别者病理生理挑战的认识。
