Transgender Americans report lower quality of life than cisgender people, study finds
New research has found that transgender Americans are more likely to have health risks and a poor quality of life. The study, published on Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, examined data from 3,075 transgender adults and compared it to data from 719,657 cisgender adults.
Analysis of this data revealed that transgender people are less likely to have health insurance than cisgender people, those who are not transgender. In addition, they are 66 percent more likely to have experienced "severe mental distress," NBC News explained. Trans survey participants were also more inclined to unhealthy habits such as a sedentary lifestyle or smoking.
The survey that collected the study's data was administered from 2014 to 2017, a period when "attitudes shifted" and transgender people may have gotten worse, said Kellan Baker, the study's author and a researcher at Johns Hopkins University.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"This study shows that being a transgender person in the U.S. today — being transgender in a society that you know doesn't fully accept you — is hard," Baker told NBC News in an email.
Xiang Cai, a researcher at Columbia University who wasn't involved in the study, said that the study's conclusions reflect "multiple levels of transgender-specific stigmas." But trans people are still "capable and resilient," Cai added, saying that gender-affirming surgeries for trans people can lead to higher quality of life. Read more at NBC News.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.
-
'A great culture will be lost if the EV brigade gets its way'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What does 'Quiet on the Set' mean for the future of kids' TV?
In the Spotlight A new documentary exposes the 'dark underbelly' of Nickelodeon productions
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The hollow classroom
Opinion Remote school let kids down. It will take much more than extra tutoring for kids to recover.
By Mark Gimein Published
-
How love impacts your health
The Explainer Turns out you actually can die of a broken heart
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Addicted to screens? 4 tips for a digital detox that sticks.
the explainer Taking a break from your phone can be good for you
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
'TikTok brain' may be coming for your kid's attention span
The Explainer What happens to kids' brains when they binge TikTok's endless stream of bite-sized videos?
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
What to say to someone who has cancer
The Explainer Saying something is better than nothing but there are some things to avoid too
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
How helpful are mental health apps?
Under the radar Market is booming, offering accessibility and affordability, but many apps are unregulated and share sensitive user data
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Car fatality rates are driving up
The Explainer The dang Covid pandemic made us worse drivers
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published