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Review
. 2021 Nov;9(6):1679-1688.
doi: 10.1111/andr.13034. Epub 2021 Jun 3.

Growth, growth potential, and influences on adult height in the transgender and gender-diverse population

Stephanie A Roberts  1   2 , Jeremi M Carswell  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Growth, growth potential, and influences on adult height in the transgender and gender-diverse population

Stephanie A Roberts et al. Andrology. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

The sexually dimorphic trait of height is one aspect of the experience of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals that may influence their gender dysphoria and satisfaction with their transition. In this article, we have reviewed the current knowledge of the factors that contribute to one's final adult height and how it might be affected in TGD youth who have not experienced their gonadal puberty in the setting of receiving gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (GnRHa) and gender-affirming hormonal treatment. Additional research is needed to characterize the influence of growth and final adult height on the lived experience of TGD youth and adults and how to best assess their growth, predict their final adult height, and how medical transition can be potentially modified to help them meet their goals.

Keywords: blockers; gender diverse; growth; height; hormones; transgender.

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Conflict of interest statement

SAR has no disclosures. JMC served on an advisory board for Endo Pharmaceuticals in June 2018.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Pubertal growth velocities by birth‐assigned sex. Birth‐assigned men achieve a taller adult height in the setting of a testosterone‐associated puberty in part because of more time for prepubertal growth and an increased peak and longer duration of the pubertal growth spurt compared with birth‐assigned females who have undergone an estrogen‐associated puberty. Adapted from Ref. ,
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Serum LH levels in response to GnRHa therapy. Prior to medical transition, LH exhibits pulsatile secretion in response to its upstream stimulator, GnRH. With treatment with GnRHa, LH levels initially increase during a “flare‐up” followed by a “desensitization” phase leading to gonadotrope suppression and loss of LH pulsatility. Adapted from Ref. . LH, Luteinizing Hormone; GnRH, Gonadotropin‐releasing hormone; GnRHa, Gonadotropin‐releasing hormone Analog
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