Abstract
Introduction
Transgender individuals experience disproportionately higher rates of mental health concerns and lower quality of life (QoL) than the general population. Gender-affirming healthcare can reduce negative mental health outcomes and improve QoL. This review explores the mental health and QoL outcomes to accessing gender-affirming surgery for transgender individuals.
Method
Following the PRISMA guidelines, searches were conducted using five databases for peer-reviewed articles, in English, with full-text available online published between January 2000 and August 2021.
Result
Fifty-three studies were included. Findings indicate reduced rates of suicide attempts, anxiety, depression, and symptoms of gender dysphoria along with higher levels of life satisfaction, happiness and QoL after gender-affirming surgery. Some studies reported that initial QoL improvements post gender-affirming surgery were not always enduring.
Conclusion
This review supports the need for more sustainable and accessible gender-affirming surgery as a means for improving the mental health and overall QoL among transgender individuals and indicates the need for further research with greater methodological rigor focusing on correlates of positive gender-affirming surgical outcomes. Without social, legal, and public policy responses to transgender discrimination, marginalization and exclusion, the beneficial outcomes of improved gender-affirming surgery will remain unclear.
Disclosure statement
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.