“We have to figure it out ourselves”: Transfeminine adolescents’ online sexual experiences and recommendations for supporting their sexual health and wellbeing

The internet plays a significant role in adolescent sexual development. Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents are more likely than their cisgender, heterosexual peers to use online spaces for sexual and romantic purposes, as they may have a smaller pool of potential partners and more concerns about the risks of in-person partner seeking. Among SGM adolescents, gender identity may shape how youth navigate online spaces for sexual purposes but there is limited research focused on transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adolescents’ online partner seeking. Previous research has focused on cisgender gay and bisexual boys’ experiences with sexual networking applications designed for adult men who have sex with men. This perspective article integrates clinical expertise and survey data from transfeminine adolescents (N = 21) in the United States reporting their online sexual behavior and experiences. We use qualitative data to describe the sexual health, safety, and wellbeing of transfeminine adolescents and offer suggestions for clinical assessment of online versus offline sexual activity and call for inclusive sexual health resources for transfeminine adolescents

Improving the Health of Cisgender Men Who Identify as Bisexual: What Do They Want from Interventions?

Self-identified bisexual men are at increased risk for negative health outcomes, but there are no interventions tailored to their unique needs. In order to develop interventions for this population, it is first necessary to understand their preferences. As part of a larger study, 128 cisgender men who identified as bisexual reported on their preferences for different intervention components. Large proportions of participants prioritized addressing both health (e.g., mental health, HIV/STI) and psychosocial experiences (e.g., dating/relationships, discrimination/victimization). A slightly larger proportion of participants preferred an intervention for gay and bisexual men together compared to an intervention for bisexual men only. However, those who reported more discrimination and recent female sexual partners were more likely to prefer an intervention for bisexual men only. Larger proportions of participants preferred a group intervention compared to an individual intervention and an in-person intervention compared to an online intervention. These findings highlight the importance of addressing both health and psychosocial experiences in tailored interventions for self-identified bisexual men. Further, while in-person and group interventions may appeal to larger proportions of self-identified bisexual men, the appeal of an intervention for gay and bisexual men together compared to an intervention for bisexual men only may depend on individual and social/contextual factors

Comparative venous thromboembolic safety of oral and transdermal postmenopausal hormone therapies among women Veterans

Objective: Hormone therapy (HT) is used by menopausal women to treat vasomotor symptoms. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is an important risk of HT use, and more knowledge on the comparative safety of different estrogenic compounds is useful for women who use HT for these symptoms. The objective was to compare the risk of VTE among users of oral conjugated equine estrogen (CEE), oral estradiol (E2), and transdermal E2, in a cohort of women veterans. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included all women veterans aged 40 to 89 years, using CEE or E2, without prior VTE, between 2003 and 2011. All incident VTE events were adjudicated. Time-to-event analyses using a time-varying HT exposure evaluated the relative VTE risk between estrogen subtypes, with adjustment for age, race, and body mass index, with stratification for prevalent versus incident use of HT. Results: Among 51,571 users of HT (74.5% CEE, 12.6% oral, and 12.9% transdermal E2 at cohort entry), with a mean age of 54.0 years, the incidence of VTE was 1.9/1,000 person-years. Compared with CEE use, in the multivariable regression model, there was no difference in the risk of incident VTE associated with oral E2 use (hazard ratio 0.96, 95% CI 0.64-1.46) or with transdermal E2 use (hazard ratio 0.95, 95% CI 0.60-1.49). Results were unchanged when restricting to incident users of HT. Conclusions: Among women veterans, the risk of VTE was similar in users of oral CEE, oral E2, and transdermal E2. These findings do not confirm the previously observed greater safety of transdermal and oral E2 over CEE.</p