A new study points out that trans people are not represented as such in clinical trials, so they may have a worst medical care. This is actually not surprising. She previously spent with women. most of clinical trials were done only with men, so the proper doses and the side effects that can occur in women they were not taken into account. As a consequence, it was much easier for them to suffer an overdose or some unwanted damage. Today the same thing still happens with the black people, which are not taken into account in certain studies. We are all the same, but they have genetic differences or differences due to skin color, which must be taken into account.
Now, it is trans people who are not considered in these studies, although most researchers may not do so on purpose. This, as explained in the study that has just been published, is due to the fact that gender and sex interchangeably, as if it were a single concept. That is, when including the participants in the clinical trial, they are asked only for one of the two, as if they were synonymous.
For example, a trans man may say that he is a man, because it is true. But if he does not specify that he is a trans man, his identity may not be taken into account. chromosome set or that you may have, for example, a higher chance of developing breast cancer than other men. These are details that must be considered so that we all have complete attention. And, in this case, it is based on something as simple as adding another question to the surveys.
Sex is not the same as gender
As the study authors explain in a statementthe main problem with this bias is that the terms sex and gender are used interchangeably. However, the first has a more biological component and the second social. Therefore, both should be taken into account.
When talking about sex, reference is made to the one that is assigned based on chromosomes. That is, if you have XY sex chromosomes is assigned as male and, if they are XX, as a woman. Regarding gender, it is rather a social construct, which depends on the self-designation from each person. A person with a male chromosomal sex may have a female gender and vice versa.
That is why both questions should be asked. Trans or cis people should specify also this and thus many problems would be avoided. If not, the research authors point out that a two-step naming could also be done. That is, ask participants for their current gender and their assigned sex at birth.
Why are trans people discriminated against?
To carry out this study, its authors, from the University of Michigan, analyzed data from the UK Biobankwhich includes genetic material and health information from 487,600 individuals of said country. They chose this database because it collects information about each participant’s chromosomal sex, as well as their self-reported sex. Thus, they found that there was 200 people in which there was disagreement in both terms.
In some cases it was not possible to determine the reason for said discrepancy, but it was possible in 70% of them. This could be due to two reasons, either a diagnosis of intersex traits or to gender dysphoria. The first refers to the presence of sexual traits that do not correspond to a single chromosomal sex. For example, they may have developed breasts, like a woman, and a penis. Or male genitalia and female chromosomes, for example.
Regarding gender dysphoria, it is the diagnosis used to establish that someone is a trans person. Some countries, such as Spain, have eliminated the requirement for this diagnosis, since it is not a psychological disorder. But in many other places it is used and has been used, so it serves to establish why there is a discrepancy between gender and sex.
This shows that there is a sufficiently high proportion of trans people to be taken into account in medical studies and clinical trials. Thus, they will receive a healthcare more suitable. The biases with women have already been resolved and little by little attempts are being made to include more ethnic origins. We must not leave trans people behind. They have suffered and are suffering enough for them to have worse medical care, for which, hopefully, it will be a simple oversight.