Men prescribed female hormones in an effort to turn them into women are 93 percent more likely than normal men to develop cardiovascular disease and 73 percent more likely to develop the heart condition than women, according to data from a Danish study published in the European Journal of Endocrinology.
“Hormone treatments such as estrogen will increase fat mass and lower lean body mass, and increased estrogen is usually associated with increased risk of autoimmune disease and inflammation,” explained Dr. Dorte Glintborg.
Transmen, i.e. women on male hormones, are also at greater risk, being 63 percent more likely to have have heart conditions than normal women, and suffering twice the risk of real men.
Researchers studied 2,671 transgender people over five years, comparing them to 26,700 normal people. Both transwomen and transmen were found to be at “significantly increased risk” of suffering a range of debilitating conditions, including not only heart disease but also strokes and hypertension.