August 01, 2025
2 min learn
Key takeaways:
- The research included 2,362 transfeminine adults, 23,618 matched cisgender males and 23,619 matched cisgender girls.
- Associations remained vital when gender-affirming hormone remedy was thought of.
Alzheimer’s illness and associated dementias, or ADRDs, are considerably extra prevalent amongst transgender feminine adults than amongst their cisgender friends, in keeping with information offered on the Alzheimer’s Affiliation Worldwide Convention.
“Our understanding of ADRD amongst transgender folks is proscribed,” Ethan Cicero, PhD, RN, FAAN, assistant professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff College of Nursing, Emroy College, stated throughout their presentation.
Information have been derived from Cicero E. ADRD amongst transfeminine adults: A cohort research. Offered at Alzheimer’s Affiliation Worldwide Convention. July 27-31, 2025. Toronto.
For instance, Cicero stated, the prevalence of ADRD amongst transfeminine adults and amongst transfeminine adults utilizing gender-affirming hormone remedy in contrast with cisgender adults has been unclear.
Cicero then examined information from the Examine of Transition, Outcomes and Gender (STRONG) to match the prevalence of ADRDs amongst demographically related transfeminine adults, cisgender males and cisgender girls.
“STRONG is an ongoing longitudinal [electronic health record] cohort of transgender folks of all ages and their age, race and area matched cisgender reference enrolled in Kaiser Permanente Well being Techniques,” Cicero stated.
Sourced from January 2006 by means of March 2023, EHR information included 2,362 transfeminine adults aged 45 years and older, 23,618 matched cisgender males and 23,619 matched cisgender girls.
Matching information included beginning yr, race/ethnicity, research website, and enrollment at index date or first proof of transgender standing within the transfeminine cohort member. The researchers outlined transfeminine through identification as girls or throughout the female gender spectrum with male task at beginning.
Prevalence charges of ADRD included 1.8% within the transfeminine group, 0.8% for cisgender males and 1% for cisgender girls. Odds ratios for ADRDs among the many transfeminine group included 2.25 (95% CI, 1.61-3.14) in contrast with cisgender males and 1.9 (95% CI, 1.36-2.63) in contrast with cisgender girls.
“When limiting analyses to transfeminine adults with proof of gender-affirming hormone remedy and their cisgender reference teams, the associations remained vital and have been solely barely stronger than within the general analyses,” Cicero stated.
Prevalence charges of ADRDs amongst individuals receiving gender-affirming hormone remedy included 1.7% for the transfeminine group (n = 1,751), 0.7% for the matched cisgender males (n = 17,509) and 0.82% for the matched cisgender girls (n = 17,509).
Odds ratios for ADRDs amongst transfeminine individuals receiving gender-affirming hormone remedy included 2.42 (95% CI, 1.61-3.64) in contrast with cisgender males and a pair of.03 (95% CI, 136-3.04) in contrast with cisgender girls.
“Outcomes restricted to cohort members for minoritized ethnoracial teams have been related however imprecise as a consequence of small numbers of ADRD instances on this group,” Cicero stated.
Charges of ADRD prevalence amongst members of minoritized ethnoracial teams included 0.8% for transfeminine girls (n = 796), 0.4% for matched cisgender males (n = 7,958) and 0.4% for matched cisgender girls (n = 7,959).
Odds ratios for ADRDs amongst transfeminine members of ethnoracial teams included 2.08 (95% CI, 0.86-5.02) in contrast with cisgender males and 1.78 (95% CI, 0.74-4.23) in contrast with cisgender girls.
Cicero known as the outcomes of this research noteworthy.
“It challenges assumptions drawn from research amongst cisgender girls, which means that exogenous estrogen remedy could provide neuroprotective advantages,” they stated. “Nonetheless, proof on this space stays combined and largely unexamined amongst transfeminine adults.”
Cicero famous a associated research that discovered no vital affiliation between the length of gender-affirming hormone remedy and cognitive functioning amongst older transfeminine adults who have been receiving long-term gender-affirming hormone remedy.
“So, extra nuanced investigations into age at initiation, dosage, route, length, formation of gender-affirming hormone remedy and hormone ranges are wanted to raised perceive the connection between hormone remedy and cognitive outcomes,” they stated.
“Future incident research could assist disentangle the results of gender affirming hormone remedy and different elements influencing ADRD danger,” Cicero added.
For extra info:
Ethan Cicero, PhD, might be reached at neurology@healio.com.
