Bone mass, bone geometry, and body composition in female-to-male transsexual persons after long-term cross-sex hormonal therapy: Editorial comment

摘要

Female-to-male transsexual persons (transsexual men) undergo ovariectomy and are on lifelong testosterone substitution therapy, which produces extreme hormonal changes. A number of studies on bone mass reported that, during the first 2 years of cross-sex hormonal therapy, testosterone could prevent possible bone loss due to estrogen deficiency. Previous studies in transsexual men assessed bone mass with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, which measures areal bone mineral density. The 2-dimensional view with areal bone mineral density has limitations in assessing bone geometry, and bone mineral density of larger bones may be overestimated. No studies have assessed volumetric bone mineral density using peripheral quantitative computed tomography in a sizable group of transsexual men.