Determinants of quality of life in Spanish transsexuals attending a gender unit before genital sex reassignment surgery.

Purpose: To evaluate the self-reported perceived quality of life (QoL) in transsexuals attending a Spanish gender identity unit before genital sex reassignment surgery, and to identify possible determinants that likely contribute to their QoL.

Methods: A sample of 119 male-to-female (MF) and 74 female-to-male (FM) transsexuals were included in the study. The WHOQOL-BREF scale was used to evaluate self-reported QoL. Possible determinants included age, sex, education, employment, partnership status, undergoing cross-sex hormonal therapy, receiving at least one non-genital sex reassignment surgery, and family support (assessed with the family APGAR questionnaire).

Results: Mean scores of all QoL domains ranged from 55.44 to 63.51. Linear regression analyses revealed that undergoing cross-sex hormonal treatment, having family support, and having an occupation were associated with a better QoL for all transsexuals. FM transsexuals have higher social domain QoL scores than MF transsexuals. The model accounts for 20.6 % of the variance in the physical, 32.5 % in the psychological, 21.9 % in the social, and 20.1 % in the environment domains, and 22.9 % in the global QoL factor.

Conclusions: Cross-sex hormonal treatment, family support, and working or studying are linked to a better self-reported QoL in transsexuals. Healthcare providers should consider these factors when planning interventions to promote the health-related QoL of transsexuals.