Sociodemographic aspects of transgender men and women in a health service in the city of São Paulo

Abstract

Introduction: The transgender population in Brazil faces several barriers to accessing education, employment, and health services, among others. In addition, they suffer from social stigmas that lead to prejudice and social harm, further increasing the obstacles and difficulties they face. Objective: To compare sociodemographic aspects of transgender men and women in a specialized health service in the city of São Paulo. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in a specialized health service in the city of São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil) with 78 individuals. Thirteen sociodemographic variables were investigated, such as age, skin color, level of education, housing situation, work status, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, age at sexarche, average monthly income, supplementary health insurance, number of sexual partners in the last 12 months, and whether they had ever engaged in sex work. The variables were compared between transgender men and women. The study has some limitations as it is a regional study conducted with a small sample in a single health service, and, therefore, the analysis of this group cannot be generalized to the entire Brazilian transgender population. Results: Significant differences were found between the groups in several variables. The level of education was higher among trans women. Housing situation was more favorable among trans men, with a higher proportion owning their own properties. Marital status showed a higher proportion of stable relationships among trans men. Sex work was more prevalent among trans women. The number of partners in the last 12 months differed between the groups, with a higher proportion of trans women having none or more than 15 partners. Access to supplementary health insurance was more common among trans women. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that trans women had higher levels of education and greater access to supplementary health insurance than trans men. However, they still experience more marginalization than trans men, particularly regarding sexual health indicators and housing stability. Trans women showed higher rates of sex work (21.7% vs. 6.3%) and greater extremes in sexual partner numbers, while trans men demonstrated more favorable housing situations (30.2% property ownership vs. 8.0%) and a higher proportion of stable relationships (26.5% married/cohabiting vs. 16.0%).