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How do hormones impact your body?
The 19th News • • health
Key Points:
- Hormone therapy, whether for menopause or gender dysphoria, involves the same drugs and causes significant physiological changes that affect the brain, immune system, senses, and risk of certain diseases.
- Recent studies show hormone therapy alters immune responses, gut microbiota diversity, bone density, heart function, and sensory perception in ways that align with gender identity rather than biological sex at birth.
- Estrogen and testosterone impact muscle mass, hair growth, sexual function, and sleep patterns, with effects such as increased muscle and body hair in trans men and softer skin and hair regrowth in trans women.
- Research gaps remain, particularly regarding diverse populations, but understanding hormone effects has broad implications for improving healthcare, including potential advances in autoimmune disease treatment and cancer risk reduction.
- Experts emphasize that sex and gender are complex and fluid, challenging binary notions and highlighting the need for healthcare informed by evolving scientific insights into hormone therapy’s multifaceted effects.
