Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35509260›Full record

ReviewJournal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association2022

Characterising body composition and bone health in transgender individuals receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy.

Ky Ford, Elizabeth Huggins, Patricia Sheean

Registry-linked trialAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07481942 (Body Composition Adaptations Following Initiation of Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy in Transgender Populations.), which is not on this map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07481942 completednot on this map

Body Composition Adaptations Following Initiation of Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy in Transgender Populations.

TypeobservationalSponsorCelia BañulsRan2017 to 2025Enrolled70ConditionsTransgenderArmsgender affirming hormone therapy
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. A systematic review of transgender male rodent model methodology.Animal models and experimental medicine · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
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  5. Considerations in Care of the Transgender Orthopedic Patient.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2025
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Observational
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  9. Article
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  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Ky FordDepartment of Applied Health Sciences, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, Illinois, USA.
Elizabeth HugginsLoyola University Chicago, Maywood, Illinois, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1837-9552
Patricia SheeanDepartment of Applied Health Sciences, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, Illinois, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0032-514X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is prescribed to produce secondary sex characteristics aligning external anatomy with gender identity to mitigate gender dysphoria. Transgender women are generally treated with oestrogens and anti-androgens, whereas transgender men are treated with testosterone. The objective of this narrative review was to characterise the influence of GAHT on body composition and bone health in the transgender population to help address weight concerns and chronic disease risk.

methodsStudies were extracted from PubMed and Scopus and limited to only those utilising imaging technologies for precise adipose tissue, lean mass, and bone mineral density (BMD) quantification.

resultsAlthough methodologies differed across the 20 investigations that qualified for inclusion, clear relationships emerged. Specifically, among transgender women, most studies supported associations between oestrogen therapy and decreases in lean mass and increases in both, fat mass and body mass index (BMI). Within transgender men, all studies reported associations between testosterone therapy and increases in lean mass, and although not as consistent, increases in BMI and decreases in fat mass. No consistent changes in BMD noted for either group.

conclusionsAdditional research is needed to appropriately assess and evaluate the implications of these body composition changes over time (beyond 1 year) in larger, more diverse groups across all BMI categories. Future studies should also seek to evaluate nutrient intake, energy expenditure and other important lifestyle habits to diminish health disparities within this vulnerable population. Policies are needed to help integrate registered dietitians into the routine care of transgender individuals.

Indexed as

Transgender PersonsBody CompositionBone DensityFemaleGender IdentityHumansMaleTestosteroneTestosteroneadipose tissuebody compositionhormone replacement therapylean massnarrative reviewtransgender persons

Identifiers

PMID35509260
PMCPMC9790536

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.