Quality of Life and Body Image of Individuals with Gender Dysphoria

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to assess the body image and quality of life of individuals suffering from gender dysphoria (GD) who were undergoing different types of treatment or no treatment at all. This was a descriptive-comparative study of 90 patients with GD sorted into three groups: untreated (no hormone therapy or surgery) (n = 30), hormone therapy (n = 30), and gender-reassignment surgery (n = 30). They were recruited using convenience sampling from a hospital in Tehran, Iran. The tools for data collection were three questionnaires to assess quality of life, body image, and demographic characteristics. The results showed that scores of quality of life and body image were significantly higher in the surgery group compared to the untreated singular (p < 0.001). A significant correlation was found between the quality of life and body image of the patients (r = 0.49; p < 0.001). We concluded that gender-reassignment surgery is the most effective treatment in improving body image and quality of life among individuals with GD.

Acknowledgments

This article has been extracted from the master's thesis of Mahsa Mirzababaie for fulfillment of Midwifery MSc degree. We appreciate the support given to this project by the Deputy of Research of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.

Funding

This article has been produced with the financial support of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. This research was approved by the ethical committee of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences with the code of 1392-1-86-11770-14343 and with research grant provided by the SBMU university number and recorded in Iranian Registry of Clinical Trial (No. IRCT201311278801N6).