Psychiatric diagnoses in young transgender women

Posted on March 23, 2016

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About 41 percent of young transgender women had one or more mental health or substance dependence diagnoses and nearly 1 in 5 had two or more psychiatric diagnoses in a study of participants enrolled in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention intervention trial, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics.

Sari L. Resiner, Sc.D., of Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, and coauthors used a diagnostic interview in an at-risk sample of young transgender women to assess the prevalence of mental health, substance dependence and coexisting psychiatric disorders.

The authors report prevalence for:

- Lifetime and current major depressive episodes were 35.4 percent and 14.7 percent, respectively
- Past 30-day suicidality was 20.2 percent
- Past 6-month generalized anxiety disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder were 7.9 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively
- Past 12-month alcohol dependence and nonalcohol psychoactive substance use were 11.2 percent and 15.2 percent, respectively.

"Culturally tailored interventions that work to decrease mental health distress and substance use among young transgender women are needed, as are longitudinal cohort studies that examine the course of mental and physical health of young transgender women over time across adolescence and young adulthood to inform interventions for this at-risk group of youth." said the author.


Category(s):LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender) Issues

Source material from JAMA Pediatrics