{"id":171618,"date":"2025-11-24T16:05:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T22:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/?p=171618"},"modified":"2025-11-25T16:20:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T22:20:04","slug":"hormone-replacement-therapies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/health\/hormone-replacement-therapies\/","title":{"rendered":"Access to Hormone Therapies Reduces Depression and Anxiety in Trans People"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gender-affirming hormone therapy is essential for the health and well-being of transgender people<\/strong> who choose to use it. However, in Mexico and Latin America, access is still limited in coverage, standardization, and medical follow-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Each person can exercise their bodily autonomy to create a body they want to inhabit,” says Siobhan Guerrero<\/a><\/strong>, researcher at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Sciences and Humanities<\/strong><\/a> (CEIICH). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guerrero explains that choosing to use hormone replacement therapy is related to the free development of one’s personality and the right to access healthcare<\/a>, which should be a guarantee for the transgender and non-binary community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientific Evidence on its Benefits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is growing evidence demonstrating that these treatments\u2014whether it is testosterone, estrogen, or other hormones\u2014have many benefits, primarily related to psychological well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies show that these therapies reduce gender dysphoria\u2014the psychological distress experienced when a person’s gender identity does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth\u2014improve their quality of life<\/a>, and decrease cases of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\u2019s positive in terms of mental health and personal development in their work, study, and family environments,” says Guerrero. “For me, this is reason enough to say that these types of technologies should be accessible to the trans and non-binary community.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But despite the evidence, progress toward universal access remains slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Ensure Safe and Supervised Access<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Guerrero, in addition to making sure that trans people who wish to use gender-affirming hormone therapy as part of their transition have access to it, it is essential that this occur with clinical monitoring and within an appropriate legal framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany of these technologies, if they aren’t used under medical supervision, can have negative effects on the kidneys, liver, or even the brain,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researcher affirms that specialized care must be non-pathologizing, since it is now recognized that being a trans person is not a pathology but a gender identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also emphasizes the importance of knowing that there are trans people who choose to undergo their transition without medication or surgical interventions. \u201cThis in no way makes them second-class trans persons,\u201d she clarifies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure safe use, protocols must be defined and procedures and medications standardized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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