Editorial: Research in Transgender Healthcare: What Have We Learned and Where Are We Going?

Abstract

[Abstract] Gender incongruence (GI) is defined as “an individual’s discontent with their assigned gender and their identification with a gender other than that associated with their birth sex based on physical sex characteristics”.

The origin of GI appears to be complex and multifactorial. From the extensive research that has been conducted over the past few years, three main factors have been identified as key mechanisms for understanding GI: genes, hormones, and the environment.

Accordingly, our Frontiers Research Topic includes twelve articles that cover very varied topics about GI, including cardiovascular effects of treatment, surgical outcomes, new treatment options and healthcare quality in a broader sense. This research involved the hard work of sixty-six authors that was carried out mainly in Europe (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Serbia, and Spain), Australia, and also the United States.