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Research Article: Nutritional status, body composition and bone health in treatment-naïve transgender and gender-diverse adolescents

Date Published: 2026-09-23

Abstract:
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa)-induced gonadal suppression is an established component of gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) adolescents. Impaired bone health has been documented in treatment-naïve TGD adolescents prior to GnRHa intervention, yet its nutritional determinants remain poorly characterized. To characterize nutritional status, body composition, and bone mineral density (BMD) in treatment-naïve TGD adolescents prior to GnRHa initiation, and to identify predictors of lumbar spine BMD z-scores. This retrospective cross-sectional study included 147 treatment-naïve TGD adolescents (59 AMAB[TGD-Female] and 88 AFAB[TGD-Male]) attending a national pediatric gender clinic. Assessments included anthropometrics, body composition, 24-h dietary calcium intake (compared to the age-specific dietary reference intake [DRI]), micronutrient status, physical activity, sleep duration, and lumbar spine BMD z-scores by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Multiple linear regression identified predictors of BMD z-score, with sex assigned at birth included as a covariate. Descriptive analyses were conducted by sex assigned at birth. The median age was 15.5 years (IQR, 14.1–16.7), and 83.7% were fully pubertal. The median daily calcium intake was 400 mg/d (31% of the DRI), with 99.3% consuming below the DRI. Vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency was present in 91.5% of participants. Of the 102 participants with complete micronutrient data, 63.7% had ? 2 nutritional deficiencies. Body composition assessment revealed a below-average muscle-to-fat ratio in both groups (median z-score ?0.74) and a higher fat mass percentage in AFAB compared to AMAB adolescents (28.6% vs. 17.4%; p < 0.001). The overall median BMD z-score was ?0.70 (IQR, ?1.30 to 0.10), with the AMAB adolescents having lower BMD z-scores than the AFAB adolescents (?1.00 vs. ?0.40; p = 0.001), and 55.8% of the former having below-average/low BMD values compared with 33.0% of the latter ( p = 0.015). The multivariable regression revealed that the BMI z-score ( B = 0.403; p < 0.001) and sex assigned at birth ( B = 0.372; p = 0.019) were the only independent predictors of the BMD z-score (R 2 = 0.344, adjusted R 2 = 0.318). Treatment-naïve TGD adolescents exhibit nutritional deficiencies, unfavorable body composition, and reduced BMD prior to GnRHa initiation, particularly those assigned male at birth. BMI z-scores and sex assigned at birth independently predicted BMD, highlighting the need for targeted pre-treatment nutritional and lifestyle interventions.

Introduction:
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa)-induced gonadal suppression is an established component of gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) adolescents. Impaired bone health has been documented in treatment-naïve TGD adolescents prior to GnRHa intervention, yet its nutritional determinants remain poorly characterized.

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