The field of transgender health is growing. What began as a lone German physician in 1918 defying the norms of treating gender identity as a disease now has burgeoned into a field that includes 1,079 PubMed articles,two medical guidelines1,2, and a multitude of books. As we learn more about the complexity of gender and gender identity, we also are discovering potential problems that occur when providing care to our transgender patients. One is eating disorders.
A systematic review by Jones et al. showed only a handful of studies on eating disorders in transgender individuals, most of them restricted to case studies.3 In some situations, the issue of gender identity arises during treatment for an eating disorder, as the individual realizes that body dissatisfaction is due to the gender identity instead of a fear of gaining weight. In other cases, a transgender person in the process of transitioning to the affirmed gender develops an eating disorder.
There are two larger quantitative studies on eating disorders among transgender individuals. One study of 289,024 college students reveals that transgender students, compared to cisgender students, are almost five times as likely to report an eating disorder and two times as likely to use unhealthy compensatory methods (e.g., vomiting) for weight control.4 Another study of almost 2,500 teenagers shows that transgender individuals are almost three times as likely to restrict their eating, almost nine times as likely to take diet pills, and seven times as likely to take laxatives.5
The most commonly suggested reason for the possible elevated risk for eating disorders among transgender individuals is that many of them are trying to achieve the unrealistic standards of the ideal masculine or feminine body type. Another explanation is that eating disorders among transgender individuals are maladaptive coping mechanisms to stress from antitrans stigma and discrimination.4 However, these explanations are not mutually exclusive and could simultaneously drive disordered eating among transgender individuals.
To further appreciate the relationship between these two conditions, one must understand their similarities and differences. The Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V characterizes eating disorders as “a persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behavior that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food and … significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning.”6 Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are driven by fear of gaining weight or by a self-esteem unduly influenced by weight or appearance.6
Gender dysphoria, in comparison, is the distress caused by the incongruence between one’s gender identity and one’s anatomy, along with the desire to have the characteristics of one’s affirmed gender identity. This condition also could severely alter physical and psychosocial functioning,7 partly because of the distress from the incongruence, and partly because of the stress from antitrans stigma and discrimination, as an individual attempts to match the body with the gender identity8 (e.g., wearing clothing to match the gender identity).
The higher risk of developing an eating disorder among transgender individuals makes sense. Dissatisfaction with one’s body characterizes both conditions. The high standards on what is masculine or feminine affects everyone, especially transgender individuals who may feel that they’re “far behind” when they begin to transition to their affirmed gender. In addition, both involve identity. Those who have anorexia nervosa also incorporate this into their own identity.9 This is why treating an eating disorder can be very difficult.
Finally, individuals afflicted by an eating disorder or gender dysphoria engage in certain behaviors to achieve their desired appearance. However, this is where the similarities end. One major distinction between an eating disorder and gender dysphoria is the treatment approach. The goal in treating an eating disorder is to discourage the disordered behavior and encourage healthier eating habits and a more positive body image. Affirming the identity of someone with an eating disorder can be deadly, as it will encourage more disordered eating.10 In contrast, affirming the identity of someone with gender dysphoria through social transition, cross-sex hormones, and/or surgical reassignment is life-saving and therapeutic.11
There is little guidance on how to treat the these disorders simultaneously. What complicates treating both conditions at the same time is that when an eating disorder is accompanied by another mental health disorder (e.g., substance use), one condition over the other is prioritized.12 There is no guidance on whether the eating disorder or gender dysphoria should take priority over the other, or if it is possible to treat both conditions at the same time.
Strandjord et al. suggest a hierarchal approach, in which life-threatening issues (such as suicide or electrolyte disturbances) take priority.13 In addition, if the patient is malnourished, weight restoration should be the initial focus. A patient who is severely malnourished may not have the cognitive capacity nor the physiological ability to manage comorbidities such as anxiety or depression,12 much less have the capacity to process something as complex as gender and gender identity, nor understand the steps necessary for a successful transition to the affirmed gender. However, this does not mean providers should wait to successfully manage an eating disorder before addressing gender dysphoria. Studies have suggested that gender-affirming medical therapies (e.g., cross sex hormones) can be therapeutic for both gender dysphoria and eating disorder symptoms.14 Finally, because of the two ways a transgender patient with an eating disorder can present, I recommend screening for eating disorders in transgender individuals and inquiring about gender identity among those with an eating disorder. Doing so may save a life.
References
1. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Sep;94(9):3132-54.
2. Adv Urol. 2012;2012:581712.
3. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2016;28(1):81-94.
4. J Adolesc Health. 2015 Aug;57(2):144-9.
5. J Adolesc Health. 2016. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.08.027.
6. Feeding and Eating Disorders. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. (Washington: American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
7. Gender Dysphoria. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. (Washington: American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
8. Psychol Bull. 2003 Sep;129(5):674-97.
9. Int J Law Psychiatry. 2003 Sep-Oct;26(5):533-48.
10. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011 Jul;68(7):724-31.
11. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2010 Feb;72(2):214-31.
12. CNS drugs. 2006;20(8):655-63.
13. Int J Eat Disord. 2015 Nov;48(7):942-5.
14. Eat Disord. 2012;20(4):300-11.
Dr. Montano is an adolescent medicine fellow at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a postdoctoral fellow in the department of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh. Email him at pdnews@frontlinemedcom.com .
