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Archives of Sexual Behavior Jul 2023Gender transition is undertaken to improve the well-being of people suffering from gender dysphoria. However, some have argued that the evidence supporting medical...
Gender transition is undertaken to improve the well-being of people suffering from gender dysphoria. However, some have argued that the evidence supporting medical interventions for gender transition (e.g., hormonal therapies and surgery) is weak and inconclusive, and an increasing number of people have come forward recently to share their experiences of transition regret and detransition. In this essay, I discuss emerging clinical and research issues related to transition regret and detransition with the aim of arming clinicians with the latest information so they can support patients navigating the challenges of regret and detransition. I begin by describing recent changes in the epidemiology of gender dysphoria, conceptualization of transgender identification, and models of care. I then discuss the potential impact of these changes on regret and detransition; the prevalence of desistance, regret, and detransition; reasons for detransition; and medical and mental healthcare needs of detransitioners. Although recent data have shed light on a complex range of experiences that lead people to detransition, research remains very much in its infancy. Little is known about the medical and mental healthcare needs of these patients, and there is currently no guidance on best practices for clinicians involved in their care. Moreover, the term detransition can hold a wide array of possible meanings for transgender-identifying people, detransitioners, and researchers, leading to inconsistences in its usage. Moving forward, minimizing harm will require conducting robust research, challenging fundamental assumptions, scrutinizing of practice patterns, and embracing debate.
Topics: Humans; Transgender Persons; Transsexualism; Gender Identity; Uncertainty; Gender Dysphoria; Emotions
PubMed: 37266795
DOI: 10.1007/s10508-023-02626-2 -
JAMA Jun 2023Prior studies have suggested that transgender individuals may be a high-risk group with respect to suicide attempt and mortality, but large-scale, population-based...
IMPORTANCE
Prior studies have suggested that transgender individuals may be a high-risk group with respect to suicide attempt and mortality, but large-scale, population-based investigations are lacking.
OBJECTIVE
To examine in a national setting whether transgender individuals have higher rates of suicide attempt and mortality than nontransgender individuals.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Nationwide, register-based, retrospective cohort study on all 6 657 456 Danish-born individuals aged 15 years or older who lived in Denmark between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 2021.
EXPOSURE
Transgender identity was determined through national hospital records and administrative records of legal change of gender.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Suicide attempts, suicide deaths, nonsuicidal deaths, and deaths by any cause during 1980 through 2021 were identified in national hospitalization and causes of death registers. Adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRRs) with 95% CIs controlling for calendar period, sex assigned at birth, and age were calculated.
RESULTS
The 6 657 456 study participants (50.0% assigned male sex at birth) were followed up during 171 023 873 person-years. Overall, 3759 individuals (0.06%; 52.5% assigned male sex at birth) were identified as transgender at a median age of 22 years (IQR, 18-31 years) and followed up during 21 404 person-years, during which 92 suicide attempts, 12 suicides, and 245 suicide-unrelated deaths occurred. Standardized suicide attempt rates per 100 000 person-years were 498 for transgender vs 71 for nontransgender individuals (aIRR, 7.7; 95% CI, 5.9-10.2). Standardized suicide mortality rates per 100 000 person-years were 75 for transgender vs 21 for nontransgender individuals (aIRR, 3.5; 95% CI, 2.0-6.3). Standardized suicide-unrelated mortality rates per 100 000 person-years were 2380 for transgender vs 1310 for nontransgender individuals (aIRR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.6-2.2), and standardized all-cause mortality rates per 100 000 person-years were 2559 for transgender vs 1331 for nontransgender individuals (aIRR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.7-2.4). Despite declining rates of suicide attempts and mortality during the 42 years covered, aIRRs remained significantly elevated in recent calendar periods up to and including 2021 for suicide attempts (aIRR, 6.6; 95% CI, 4.5-9.5), suicide mortality (aIRR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.3-5.9), suicide-unrelated mortality (aIRR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.5-2.1), and all-cause mortality (aIRR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.4-2.1).
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
In this Danish population-based, retrospective cohort study, results suggest that transgender individuals had significantly higher rates of suicide attempt, suicide mortality, suicide-unrelated mortality, and all-cause mortality compared with the nontransgender population.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Humans; Male; Young Adult; Denmark; Hospitalization; Retrospective Studies; Suicide, Attempted; Transgender Persons; Gender Identity; Registries; Suicide; Female
PubMed: 37367977
DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.8627 -
Current Opinion in Psychology Feb 2024Misinformation poses a significant concern, promoting false beliefs and eroding trust in media. People differ in their susceptibility to believe and to share... (Review)
Review
Misinformation poses a significant concern, promoting false beliefs and eroding trust in media. People differ in their susceptibility to believe and to share misinformation. In this article, we reviewed recent research on relationships between personality traits and belief in and sharing of misinformation. Findings show that more extroverted and less conscientious and agreeable people tend to be more susceptible to believing in and sharing misinformation. Additionally, the Dark Triad personality traits of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism tend to be positively associated with sharing of misinformation, and narcissism and psychopathy are associated with greater belief in misinformation. Understanding these individual differences can inform interventions to reduce the effects of misinformation.
Topics: Humans; Personality; Machiavellianism; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Narcissism; Disease Susceptibility
PubMed: 38065004
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101752 -
Zeitschrift Fur Kinder- Und... Sep 2023
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Humans; Transgender Persons; Adolescent Psychiatry; Transsexualism
PubMed: 37681654
DOI: 10.1024/1422-4917/a000943 -
Lakartidningen Nov 2023Exercise and protein for function and self-confidence - The OPEN model for community care of older persons Experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic indicate the need to...
Exercise and protein for function and self-confidence - The OPEN model for community care of older persons Experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic indicate the need to introduce care routines for health promotion among recipients of care for older persons. A treatment model with daily repeated sit-to-stand exercises in combination with oral protein supplements twice daily has been evaluated in community care for older persons in the Stockholm Region; the Older Person's Exercise and Nutrition (OPEN) Study. The 3-month controlled study included 102 residents. A substantial part of the residents were able to follow the intervention, and to maintain or improve their chair-rising capacity, while also increasing their weight and muscle mass. Interview studies showed that the participants found the OPEN concept was easy to adopt, gave increased self-confidence and an increased sense of hope. The staff perceived the intervention as a potentially positive concept. The OPEN model is a method that may contribute to a health-promoting way of working in the care of older persons.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Pandemics; Exercise; Exercise Therapy; Self Concept; COVID-19
PubMed: 37975759
DOI: No ID Found -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Jul 2023Animal personality, consistent individual differences in behaviour, is an important concept for understanding how individuals vary in how they cope with environmental... (Review)
Review
Animal personality, consistent individual differences in behaviour, is an important concept for understanding how individuals vary in how they cope with environmental challenges. In order to understand the evolutionary significance of animal personality, it is crucial to understand the underlying regulatory mechanisms. Epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation are hypothesised to play a major role in explaining variation in phenotypic changes in response to environmental alterations. Several characteristics of DNA methylation also align well with the concept of animal personality. In this review paper, we summarise the current literature on the role that molecular epigenetic mechanisms may have in explaining personality variation. We elaborate on the potential for epigenetic mechanisms to explain behavioural variation, behavioural development and temporal consistency in behaviour. We then suggest future routes for this emerging field and point to potential pitfalls that may be encountered. We conclude that a more inclusive approach is needed for studying the epigenetics of animal personality and that epigenetic mechanisms cannot be studied without considering the genetic background.
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Personality; Individuality; Epigenesis, Genetic; Biological Evolution
PubMed: 37094740
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105194 -
Psychoneuroendocrinology Jul 2023An aging-related immune phenotype (ARIP) has been defined as a decrease in naïve T cells (T) relative to the accumulation of memory T cells (T). Recent research...
An aging-related immune phenotype (ARIP) has been defined as a decrease in naïve T cells (T) relative to the accumulation of memory T cells (T). Recent research implicates ARIP measures, such as CD4 +T/T and CD8 +T/T ratios, in multimorbidity and mortality. This study examined whether psychological dispositions that assess how people think, feel, and behave are related to CD4 +T/T and CD8 +T/T. Participants were adults aged 50-104 years (N = 4798; 58% women, Mean Age= 67.95, SD= 9.56) from the Health and Retirement Study. Data on CD4 +T/T and CD8 +T/T were obtained in 2016. Data on personality, demographic factors, and potential clinical (body mass index, disease burden), behavioral (smoking, alcohol, physical activity), psychological (depressive symptoms, stress), and biological (cytomegalovirus IgG antibodies) mediating factors were obtained in 2014/2016. Controlling for demographic factors, higher conscientiousness was related to higher CD4 +T/T and CD8 +T/T. To a lesser extent, higher neuroticism and lower extraversion were associated with lower CD4 +T/T Physical activity, and to a lesser extent BMI and disease burden, were the most robust mediators between personality and ARIP measures. Cytomegalovirus IgG level mediated the association between conscientiousness and both CD4 +T/T and CD8 +T/T. This study provides novel evidence that personality is related to ARIP. Higher conscientiousness and, to a lesser extent, higher extraversion may be protective against age-related immunophenotype change, whereas neuroticism may be a risk factor.
Topics: Female; Male; Humans; Personality; Personality Disorders; Neuroticism; Immunoglobulin G
PubMed: 37120948
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106113 -
The International Journal of Social... Sep 2023Homeless people present high rates of psychopathology, including personality disorders. Given the link between personality disorders and attachment, and the potential... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Homeless people present high rates of psychopathology, including personality disorders. Given the link between personality disorders and attachment, and the potential importance of these two traits for understanding homeless populations.
AIMS
Our aim was to review all studies focusing on attachment and on the full assessment of personality disorders in the homeless.
METHOD
Overall, 213 studies were screened through title and abstract. Of these, 63 articles were chosen for full-text assessment.
RESULTS
A total of 14 articles met eligibility criteria and were included in the present review. Six studies evaluated personality disorders and eight studies assessed attachment in the homeless. In general, reports suggested that personality disorders are highly common in the homeless, with frequencies ranging between 64% and 79% for any personality disorder. The most common personality diagnoses were paranoid (14%-74%), borderline (6%-62%), avoidant (14%-63%), and antisocial (4%-57%) personality disorders. Attachment reports differed in the methods used and presented diverse results and correlates. Even so, insecure types of attachment dominated in the homeless, accounting for 62% to 100% of the samples.
CONCLUSIONS
The high prevalence of personality disorders and insecure types of attachment in the homeless may impact intervention strategies for these people. The available literature evaluating attachment and the full assessment of personality disorders in the homeless is scarce, which supports the need for more research on these two topics.
Topics: Humans; Personality Disorders; Psychopathology; Ill-Housed Persons; Prevalence; Personality; Borderline Personality Disorder
PubMed: 36951386
DOI: 10.1177/00207640231161201 -
Nature Human Behaviour Sep 2023Personality and cognitive function are heritable mental traits whose genetic foundations may be distributed across interconnected brain functions. Previous studies have...
Personality and cognitive function are heritable mental traits whose genetic foundations may be distributed across interconnected brain functions. Previous studies have typically treated these complex mental traits as distinct constructs. We applied the 'pleiotropy-informed' multivariate omnibus statistical test to genome-wide association studies of 35 measures of neuroticism and cognitive function from the UK Biobank (n = 336,993). We identified 431 significantly associated genetic loci with evidence of abundant shared genetic associations, across personality and cognitive function domains. Functional characterization implicated genes with significant tissue-specific expression in all tested brain tissues and brain-specific gene sets. We conditioned independent genome-wide association studies of the Big 5 personality traits and cognitive function on our multivariate findings, boosting genetic discovery in other personality traits and improving polygenic prediction. These findings advance our understanding of the polygenic architecture of these complex mental traits, indicating a prominence of pleiotropic genetic effects across higher order domains of mental function such as personality and cognitive function.
Topics: Humans; Genome-Wide Association Study; Personality; Phenotype; Multifactorial Inheritance; Cognition
PubMed: 37365406
DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01630-9 -
Journal of the American Medical... Oct 2023Clinical observations and studies of retrospective observer ratings point to changes in personality in persons with cognitive impairment or dementia. The timing and... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
OBJECTIVES
Clinical observations and studies of retrospective observer ratings point to changes in personality in persons with cognitive impairment or dementia. The timing and magnitude of such changes, however, are unclear. This study used prospective self-reported data to examine the trajectories of personality traits before and during cognitive impairment.
DESIGN
Longitudinal observational cohort study.
SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS
Older adults from the United States in the Health and Retirement Study were assessed for cognitive impairment and completed a measure of the 5 major personality traits every 4 years from 2006 to 2020 (N = 22,611; n = 5507 with cognitive impairment; 50,786 personality and cognitive assessments).
METHODS
Multilevel modeling examined changes before and during cognitive impairment, accounting for demographic differences and normative age-related trajectories.
RESULTS
Before cognitive impairment was detected, extraversion (b = -0.10, SE = 0.02), agreeableness (b = -0.11, SE = 0.02), and conscientiousness (b = -0.12, SE = 0.02) decreased slightly; there was no significant change in neuroticism (b = 0.04, SE = 0.02) or openness (b = -0.06, SE = 0.02). During cognitive impairment, faster rates of change were found for all 5 personality traits: neuroticism (b = 0.10, SE = 0.03) increased, and extraversion (b = -0.14, SE = 0.03), openness (b = -0.15, SE = 0.03), agreeableness (b = -0.35, SE = 0.03), and conscientiousness (b = -0.34, SE = 0.03) declined.
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Cognitive impairment is associated with a pattern of detrimental personality changes across the preclinical and clinical stages. Compared with the steeper rate of change during cognitive impairment, the changes were small and inconsistent before impairment, making them unlikely to be useful predictors of incident dementia. The study findings further indicate that individuals can update their personality ratings during the early stages of cognitive impairment, providing valuable information in clinical settings. The results also suggest an acceleration of personality change with the progression to dementia, which may lead to behavioral, emotional, and other psychological symptoms commonly observed in people with cognitive impairment and dementia.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Retrospective Studies; Prospective Studies; Personality; Cognitive Dysfunction; Dementia
PubMed: 37330217
DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2023.05.011