SAT417 Comparison Of Mental Health Status In Transgender And Gender Diverse Versus Cisgender People

Disclosure: C.C. Pedreira: None. S. Tchir-Bourgeois: None. S. Tuli: None. A. Giancola: None. A.P. Lopez Lopez: None. A.S. Keuroghlian: None. M. Misra: None. J.M. Andreano: None. Background: In the last decade, there has been an increase in the number and visibility of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people seeking support and health care. These individuals are at a substantially increased risk for depression, anxiety and suicide relative to cisgender people. Some estimates suggest a lifetime prevalence of suicide approaching 40%, a rate ten times that of the general population. Nonbinary people appear to experience stressors that are both similar to and unique from those experienced by transgender (TG) men and women. Objective: To assess and compare the mental health status of TGD (before starting gender affirming hormone therapy) versus cisgender people. Methods: We collected cross-sectional data from 14 TGD (8 TG binary and 6 nonbinary) and 11 cisgender subjects before starting gender affirming hormone therapy. Subjects completed a series of self-reported inventories designed to assess depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Inventory), anxiety (State/Trait Anxiety Inventory), traumatic experiences (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptom self-report version), response to depressive mood (Ruminative Response Scale) feelings and emotions (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule), and personality (NEO Personality inventory). Results: Mean [SD] age was 25.8 [6.0], 27.6 [4.7] and 26.5 [4.3) years for TG binary, nonbinary and cisgender groups respectively. Mean [SD] age of gender dysphoria was 14.5 [4.9] and 14.5 [8.9] years for TG binary and nonbinary groups respectively. Compared with the cisgender group, the nonbinary group had higher scores for negative feelings and emotions [29.50 (19.25, 31.25) vs. 13.00 (10.00, 19.00), (p=0.005)], rumination [55.33 ± 4.72 vs. 41.36. ± 3.45 (p=0.03)], depression [15.83. ± 1.62 vs. 8.73 ± 1.20 (p=0.005)], anxiety [47.67 ± 3.72 vs. 34.82. ± 2.97 (p=0.02)], and neuroticism [41.83 ± 2.82 vs. 30.46. ± 2.57 (p=0.01)]. Traumatic experiences did not differ between the two groups. Compared to the TG binary group, the nonbinary group had higher scores for negative feelings and emotions [26.50 ± 2.59 vs. 17.13 ± 1.68 (p=0.01)] and depression [15.83. ± 1.62 vs. 9.50 ± 1.63 (p=0.02)]. Levels of anxiety, rumination, traumatic experiences and neuroticism did not differ between these groups. Conclusion: These results direct attention to the increased levels of negative feelings and emotions as well as depression in the nonbinary group compared to TG binary and cisgender groups. The data highlight the critical need for intervention approaches to mitigate these risks in nonbinary individuals. Presentation: Saturday, June 17, 2023