Stroke in male to female transgenders: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND The effect of hormonal therapy has been extensively studied in women. However, similar data on male-to-female (MTF) transgenders, another important population that receives hormonal therapy is lacking. Existing studies in MTF transgenders are skewed toward mental health and health-harming behaviors while few have focused on chronic health conditions. Our study aims to review the existing data on stroke in MTF transgenders and perform a quantitative analysis on the frequency of this condition in this special population. METHODS PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Web of Science were systematically searched for studies that reported data on the occurrence of cerebrovascular diseases in MTF transgenders. We reported the hormonal regimens, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of stroke in MTF transgenders. A meta-analysis of proportions was performed by the random-effects model to compute for the frequency of cerebrovascular events in MTF transgenders. RESULTS Fourteen studies were included in the qualitative analysis while five studies were included in the quantitative analysis. A total of 109 MTF transgenders (Mean 14; range 1-53) suffered a cerebrovascular event. Random-effect modeling analysis showed an overall estimated frequency of 2% for cerebrovascular events in transgenders with a moderate degree of heterogeneity (I2 = 62%). CONCLUSION Hormonal therapy in MTF transgenders may confer cardiovascular risks in this population. However, more population-based studies that include clinical characteristics and outcomes of chronic health diseases in MTF transgenders are warranted. Such studies may be crucial in directing future guidelines on the health care and management of MTF transgenders.