I have a question that i have been trying to find an answer for, but it's hard using google to find the right answer, so i guess a forum would fit better.

Here it goes, During the years I have been intressted in M2F transsexuals I have read and seen many articels/posts on the "subject" , and I've got the impression that transexuals have a shorter life. How true is that, and why? Is it because the hormones or what?
Please give me facts, not your opinion or what you "think" its like, and if you can give the source or your information, Site/book, what ever.



ps. Happy New year everyone!

Eddie;

Before I/we can address your question, can you provide a little more information, please?

How did you come to be in possession of this 'impression'?  Did you get it from individuals or specific groups?  Were these individuals or groups merely looking for the unvarnished facts, or were they trying to defend their moral truths?

Also, your asking "How true is that," indicates a presupposition that it is true, and that we're only trying to determine the degree of true-ness.

And you haven't given any criteria in which to judge the hypothesis you posit, "Transsexuals die younger than non-transsexuals".  What is the variance to the general population that will be accepted as a statistically significant threshold for determining the hypothesis to be True?

Certainly, many transsexuals who can't/won't transition die early by their own hand.  Is this to be included in the data?  And what of the transsexuals who, because their quality of life has been improved immensely by sufficiently transitioning, no longer consider suicide as a viable option.  Do they count as living longer than they would have otherwise?

And what answer from Google constitutes 'the right answer'?  I don't know what your moral frame of reference is, so I can't know the answer to that.  If you would be so kind as to provide some more details about your frame of reference and point of view -- is it absolute, or relative?

Susan's is a support site for the transgendered.  If you are or suspect you may be transgendered, we can help.

Karen

hehe, no i am not transgendered in anyway, i dont need help thanks.

The impression i have got is just because I think that I read or heard that from someone.
I guess that is not the case then, that transexuals have shorter life then non-transexuals.

Eddie,


               No one who has the means to do a widespread study cares enough about transsexuals to do any definitive studies.  All the available information comes from very small studies with few participants. Furthermore many of the studies were done by people only interested in proving a predetermined result.  Almost all transsexual information is emperical. The only way to understand is to weigh the emperical data (which contains lots of untruths and propaganda) and come to a conclusion.

Why the interest?


beth

Hello Eddie.  I have never heard that transexuals have an unnaturally short life expectancy, and I would guess that any information supporting that would only be theoretical.  I wouldnt worry about it

Karen, maybe I misunderstood your post, but I would just like to say that we shouldnt require anyone asking questions to phrase said question with every possible scientific angle covered to the point that it would satisfy Stephen Hawking at a physics lecture.  I was able to understand the question well enough.

The few statistics I have read* attribute an increased mortality to suicide and other forms of self-harm as well as the tendency for some of our sisters to fall prey to a number of dangers including becoming victims of other's violence. However, as Karen and Beth go on to say, any studies on this matter should be taken with a pinch of salt for the reasons that I won't waste any time repeating...

Regardless, I'd rather have a shorter life living on my own terms, than one stretched out and yet full of remorse.


*please don't ask for links; I haven't a clue where I picked this up from.

Hi Eddie!

I agree with the others.  It would be nice and helpful for some of us to read a link of the statistics you mentioned in your post.  And while we are at it, why not post an introduction so that all the members can welcome you and greet you?

tinkerbell

Ditto-Ditto- and Ditto!
ricki

Hey All, thanks for the answers, i was surprised to see so many when i logged in this morning .

Im glad to hear that it is not as I thought. Wish i could provide you with the link, but I do not remember it, it was probably someone who said it at another forum.

Beth, its personal reasons.

Tinkerbell, I dont plan to participate too much in this forum, i just wanted to get an answer for something that has been bothering me a while. So i'll just includa a short introduction here

Well, I'm just your regular 21 year old student from sweden, with a secret interest in transexuals, more correctly young pre-op transexuals comfrotable withthem self enough to not undergo the operation(srs). Note that I do not mean any offense by this. So i guess that is why I won't be very active here, since everyone here seems to either had th srs or are planing on it, and most seem above my age here.

So anyways, thanks for the answers, you've been very helpful

I just read an article that cited a study in which looked at this issue.  The final conclusion was that transsexuals do not have a shortened life span.  Now if one decides to suicide, that is a different story but if one does not actively seek to end their existence, they can pretty much expect to live a "normal" lifespan.  Since I read three or four this AM, I cannot recall exactly which one this appeared in.  However, should I run across it again today or tomorrow I will post the name and authors here.

Found it:

"Although there is an increase in the number of thrombo-embolic disorders in oestrogen-treated MF
patients (less marked, however, since the use of transdermal oestrogens after the age of 40), the
mortality of MF transsexuals is similar to that of the normal population (121). Very exceptionally, the
development of a pituitary prolactin-secreting microadenoma has been described (122); we have recently
observed a 3 mm hypophysial microadenoma (prolactin and growth hormone (GH)?) in a hyperoestrogenized
MF patient: the image and endocrine abnormalities disappeared after a decrease in the dose of oestrogen.
Other metabolic and endocrine effects of the treatment (123) include: increase in bone density (124), decrease
in plasma insulin-like growth factor-I (125) and decrease in hair growth and sebum formation (126)."


Michel, Mormont, Legros, `A psycho-endocrinological overview of transsexualism', European Journal of Endocrinology (2001) 145 365-376

the above quote can be found on p. 371

The reference (121) is for:
van Kesteren P. Asscheman H. Megans J & Gooren LJG, `Mortality and morbidity in transsexual patients treated with cross-sex hormones', Clinical Endocrinology 1997 47 347-354

Very nice, thats good news thank you

Even if statistics do state that transsexuals die earlier than none-transsexuals, I still would not have done things any differently and given the chance would do it all again. The only thing I regret is that I started late in my life with the result that I spent half my life being veryu unhappy and wishing for death.

Quote from: charmd on January 04, 2007, 08:35:29 AM
Even if statistics do state that transsexuals die earlier than none-transsexuals, I still would not have done things any differently and given the chance would do it all again. The only thing I regret is that I started late in my life with the result that I spent half my life being veryu unhappy and wishing for death.

Exactly how I feel too.  Even with all my ailments related to long term estrogen use, and my shorter life span, I will do it all over again in a millisecond.

tinkerbell

Eddie ,
everyone offer tremendous insight or help..
I am 38 non transitioning or non post op a little out (hehe.. A little HAH a lot) of that age bracket you mentioned but post if there's a question?   
You said your curiosity was personal reasons i respect that.  Curious are you dating someone who claims transsexuality or anything like that that you are curious?
Ricki