Gender Dysphoria in the Pediatric Population: Initial Experience of a Transdisciplinary Group

 

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Abstract

Introduction Although there is an increasing experience in the management of transgender individuals, this has not been thoroughly explored in children. The need to establish a comprehensive and transdisciplinary management is of critical importance. In order to solve this issue, we want to report the results of a cohort of individuals with gender dysphoria (GD) seen by our transdisciplinary group from a social and clinical and health access perspective.

Methods A 10-year retrospective case series of all patients that had been seen by our transdisciplinary team was reviewed. The main demographic characteristics were described, as well as impact variables in terms of diagnosis and treatment of these individuals. A social description of each individual was described. Frequency, distribution, and central tendency measures were evaluated for data presentation. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 24.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY) software was used.

Results Four cases of GD were included. Three had male to female dysphoria and one female to male. The median reported age of GD awareness was 6 years old (between 4 and 8 years old), and the median time between GD awareness and the 1^st medical evaluation was 7 years for all individuals. The median age at gender role expression was 12 years old (between 10 and 14 years old). All patients had already assumed their experienced gender role before the 1^st evaluation by our group. The median age at the 1^st evaluation by our group was 13 years old (between 10 and 16 years old); three of the patients were evaluated after initiation of puberty. In the present study, individuals with GD demonstrated having health care access barriers for their transition process. Referral times are high, and individuals with GD are cared after pubertal development, which is related to suboptimal outcomes. The spectrum of GD is broad, and management must be individualized according to expectations.

Conclusion Individuals with GD face multiple access barriers that limit their possibility of being seen by a transdisciplinary team. This reflects in longer waiting times that negatively impact medical management. Gender dysphoria is a wide spectrum, and individuals should be evaluated individually by a transdisciplinary team.

Resumen

Introducción En las ultimas décadas se ha ganado más experiencia en el manejo de individuos con disforia de genero (DG). Sin embargo, en la población pediátrica esto aun no se ha explorado completamente. La necesidad de ofrecer un manejo cuidadoso y transdisciplinario es de gran importancia. El objetivo de este estudio es presentar la experiencia de nuestro grupo transdisciplinario (GT) en el abordaje de pacientes con DG desde el punto de vista medico y social.

Materiales y métodos Se realizó un análisis descriptivo de los casos de DG en menores de 18 años tratados en los últimos 10 años por el GT de Desórdenes del Desarrollo e Identidad Sexual. Se usaron medidas de frecuencia y tendencia central para la presentación de datos mediante el programa SPSS, versión 24.0. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo de las variables: familia y dinámica social; evaluación psiquiátrica; expectativas; barreras de acceso; y abordaje del GT.

Resultados Se presentan cuatro casos de DG, tres hombre-mujer y uno mujer-hombre. La edad a la primera sensación de disforia (PSD) fue en promedio 5,7 años, y el tiempo medio entre la PSD y la primera evaluación médica (PEM) fue de 6,25 años. La edad promedio a la primera evaluación por el grupo (PEG) fue de 13,25 años; 3 individuos tenían pubertad avanzada y 1, incipiente. Dos individuos habían recibido atención médica antes de la PEG. Se identificó que, al momento de la valoración por el grupo, los individuos contaban con el apoyo de sus familiares, y el entorno escolar era cada vez más incluyente; en ninguno se identificó enfermedad psiquiátrica, y a todos se indicó acompañamiento por psicoterapia. La expectativa con el proceso fue heterogénea con respecto a procedimientos quirúrgicos, manejos hormonales y rol de género, dependiendo de las características físicas que generaban disforia (caracteres sexuales secundarios, genitales). Las barreras de acceso fueron el desconocimiento de los especialistas en primeras valoraciones y las administrativas. La decisión del grupo con respecto al manejo hormonal y quirúrgico, así como acompañamiento psicológico se individualizó para cada paciente.

Conclusiones Los individuos con DG presentan barreras de acceso a soporte médico para su proceso de transición. Los tiempos de atención son prolongados; por ende, son atendidos después de desarrollar la pubertad, lo cual se relaciona con desenlaces subóptimos. El espectro de la DG es amplio y se debe individualizar el manejo según las expectativas.

Publication History

Received: 31 August 2020

Accepted: 22 December 2020

Article published online:
22 December 2021

© 2021. Sociedad Colombiana de Urología. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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