More than 1 million people in the United States identify as transgender, but there is limited research on nutrition-related health outcomes for this demographic. However, Eli Kalman-Rome, a graduate student of nutrition at George Mason University, wanted to investigate the common motivations of dietary supplement use among transmasculine people.
The study defines โtransmasculineโ as people on the transgender or nonbinary spectrum who were assigned female at birth. According to the study, 90 percent of transmasculine participants reported using supplements at some point in their lives. Transmasculine also reported a higher use of dietary supplements at 65 percent, compared to the total American population at 22.5 percent
โThe lack of research on the nutritional needs of transgender people, including transgender/nonbinary transmasculine people navigating social or medical transitioning and the findings of this study highlight the need for population-level research that ensures that nutritional advice is appropriate for the affected communities,โ Kalman-Rome, lead study author, said.
Transmasculine people reported using supplements in unique ways compared to the general public including number of supplement used on average, reasons for taking supplements and variety of supplements, researchers said.
According to researchers, the most common dietary supplements used by transmasculine people include multivitamins, melatonin, vitamin D, vitamin C, fish oil, B vitamins, iron and green tea. Top reasons included โimproving overall healthโ and โmaintaining health.โ
โIt is important to understand the motivations and types of products being used by transmasculine people, as an increased risk of adverse events, due to use of exogenous testosterone, medications, and other factors, may be present,โ said Lilian de Jonge, one of the study authors and interim chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at George Mason University.
To read the full study, visit this link.