Trans Adults In Rural Areas More Likely to Develop Heart Disease

A recent study reported by Medical Xpress found that, due to the higher rates of risk-taking behavior, trans adults in the U.S. Appalachian region area are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease.

The lead study author, Ebubechukwu Ezeh, M.D., says, “Data indicates that West Virginia, which is wholly in the Appalachian region, has one of the highest per capita rates of transgender youth in the country, so we sought to study the burden of cardiovascular disease risks in the transgender population in this region.”

The study consisted of 89 trans adults and 67 cis adults, with an average age of 29. This study, although not extensive due to the small sample size, did have some interesting findings. The analysis found that, along with higher risk-taking behaviors, such as smoking and drinking, trans men are 13 times more likely to have obesity and almost four times more likely to have high cholesterol as compared to trans women. Those on HRT are 11 times more likely to drink more alcohol, six times more likely to smoke tobacco, and four times more likely to require cholesterol-lowering medication as compared to other trans participants of this study who were not on HRT.

Higher risk-taking behaviors such as smoking and drinking are statistically more likely to be present issues within marginalized communities, so this comes as no surprise. As well as risk-taking behaviors, marginalized communities are also at a higher risk of obesity and high cholesterol levels. This is due to several outward factors, the largest of which can be interpreted as the fact that human beings do not respond well to large amounts of stress. The social demonization of being trans is a massive stressor. Human beings are social creatures, and therefore, the way we are perceived socially can have very strong effects on the way we see ourselves, both consciously and subconsciously.