ANTHROPOMETRICAL MEASUREMENTS AND ANDROGEN LEVELS IN MALES, FEMALES, AND HORMONALLY UNTREATED FEMALE-TO-MALE TRANSSEXUALS

To elucidate the relationship between body build, androgens, and trans sexual gender identity, anthropometric measurements were assessed in 1 5 hormonally untreated female-to-male-transsexuals (FMT). Nineteen hea lthy women (CF) ((X) over bar = 22 years; 2 months), and 21 healthy me n (CM) ((X) over bar = 23;7) were enrolled as controls. Baseline level s of testosterone (T; ng/dl), androstenedione (A4; ng/dl), dehydroepia ndrosterone sulfate (DHEAS; ng/ml), and sex-hormone binding globulin ( SHBG; mu g/ml) were assessed in 12 FMT 15 CF and in all CM. No control was under hormonal medication (including contraceptives). Absolute me asurements in FMT were in accordance with their biological sex: they s howed only small differences from the CF. However FMT differed from CF in 7 of 14 sex-dimorphic indices of masculinity/femininity in body bu ild. Of these 14 indices, 9 did not show a difference between FMT and CM. Hence, FMT presented a more masculine body build, particularly in fat distribution and bone proportions. Levels of T and A4 were signifi cantly higher in FMT than in CF (T: 54.0 +/- 13.8 vs. 41.1 +/- 12.8; A 4: 244.8 +/- 73.0 vs. 190.5 +/- 49.3), while DHEAS was higher in CM (3 335 +/- 951) than in CF (2333 +/- 793) and in FMT (2679 +/- 1089). Alt ogether 83.3% of FMT and 33.3% of CF were above normal values for at l east one measured androgen. SHBG in FMT (1.21 +/- 0.70) and CF (1.87 /- 0.91) was higher than in CM (0.49 +/- 0.18) and tended to be higher in CF than in FMT. Unbound T (T/SHBG ratio) was higher in FMT (72.0 /- 67.6) than in CF (26.4 +/- 15.1) and correlated positively with man ly body shape. Findings are discussed in relation to etiology of trans sexualism.