A banner image showing team members of Trans Health Research, smiling outside.

Our Published Research

We conduct research with one goal: to provide robust evidence to better the health and well-being of the trans including gender diverse and non-binary community. This is our community. Every question we ask, every project that we do, every collaboration that we start must be aligned with our goal and translate to better health. Findings guide health and well-being programs, treatment guidelines and health policy to enable trans people to live a life without barriers.

We hope you find our list of research below informative. All have been peer-reviewed and published in academic journals. Due to journal copyright restrictions, we can't link to the full texts of some publications. If you find the full text isn't available in the link, just send us a request to and we will gladly email you a copy.

An image introducing the study titled Health Needs of Trans Aussies. The subtitle reads Health Needs of Trans and Gender Diverse Adults in Australia, a Quantitative Analysis of a National Community Survey.

An image listing the respondents of the study. Thirty seven percent were trans females. Thirty six perecent were trans males. Twenty seven percent were non-binary. One percent were intersex.

An image describing findings of the study. Forty five percent of transgender people were found to have experienced severely lacking knowledge among healthcare providers. Eighty percent of trans people had a regular primary care doctor. Fifteen and a half percent of the respondents wanted further research into mental health and neurological indicators.

An image listing experiences of respondents within healthcare systems. The experiences are as follows. Incorrect pronouns being used by healthcare providers and receptionists. Inappropriate and irrelevant questions about patients' identities, experiences, and sexual history. Incorrect focus on patients' transgender status as a cause of any persisting mental and medical health issues. Transgender people being unable to dictate their own hormonal transitions. Inability to afford medically-necessary operations. At the footer of the page, text reads, Overall findings highlight a need for better training for healthcare professionals in trans healthcare, to improve access to care for the community.

An image listing suggestions for improvements within the healthcare sector. The suggestions are as follows. Training for all kinds of healthcare professionas, including doctors, therapists, and specialists. Medical advances, including surgical techniques, hormone effects, risks, and alternative treatments. Medical interventions and ongoing support for trans people hwo are years into their medical transitions. Further research into hormone blockers to reduce the stigma around their use, and increase their safety. Further understanding of non-binary identities and non-binary social transitions, a

LINK TO STUDY

An image introducing the study titled Cross-Sex Hormone Therapy in Australia, The Prescription Patterns of Clinicians Experienced in Adult Trans Healthcare.

An image outlining the respondents in the study. The text reads, 35 AUSPATH members experienced in hormone prescription. The breakdown of respondents is fifty four percent female, forty percent male, and five percent transgender.

An image describing findings. Seventy nine percent supported development of Australian guidelines, later created by Trans Health Research. More than ninety percent targeted hormone reference ranges of the affirmed gender. Reandron injections were used by forty six percent. Progynova was used by seventy one percent.

LINK TO STUDY

Original Research Publications

Light M, McFarlane T, Ives A, Shah B, Lim E, Grossmann M, Zajac JD, Cheung AS. Testosterone therapy considerations in estrogen, progesterone and androgen receptor positive breast cancer in a transgender male. Clinical Endocrinology (Oxf). 2020 Jun 10

Nolan BJ, Brownhill A, Bretherton I, Wong P, Fox S, Locke P, Russell N, Grossmann M, Zajac JD, Cheung AS. Relationships between body mass index with oral estradiol dose and serum estradiol concentration in transgender adults undergoing feminising hormone therapy. Therapeutic Advances in Endocrinology and Metabolism 2020;11:1-7.

Cheung AS, Leemaqz SY, Wong JP, Chew D, Ooi O, Zwickl S, Cundill P, Silberstein N, Locke P, Grayson R, Zajac JD, Pang KC. Non-Binary and Binary Gender Identity in Australian Trans and Gender Diverse Individuals. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 2020 Apr 13.

Zwickl S, Wong A, Bretherton I, Rainier M, Chetcuti D, Zajac JD, Cheung AS. Health Needs of Trans and Gender Diverse Adults in Australia: A Qualitative Analysis of a National Community Survey. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2019 16(24):5088

Bretherton I, Thrower E, Grossmann M, Zajac JD, Cheung AS. Cross-sex hormone therapy in Australia: the prescription patterns of clinicians experienced in adult transgender healthcare. Internal Medicine Journal 2019 Feb;49(2):182-188

Lim HY, Leemaqz SY, Torkamani N, Grossmann M, Zajac JD, Nandurkar H, Ho P, Cheung AS. Global coagulation assays in transgender women on oral and transdermal estradiol therapy. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2020 May 15. pii: dgaa262.

Nolan BJ, Leemaqz SY, Ooi O, Cundill P, Silberstein N, Locke P, Grossmann M, Zajac JD, Cheung AS. Prevalence of polycythaemia with different formulations of testosterone therapy in transmasculine individuals. Internal Medicine Journal. 2020 Apr 1.

Bretherton I, Grossmann M, Leemaqz SY, Zajac JD, Cheung AS. Australian endocrinologists need more training in transgender health: A national survey. Clinical Endocrinology (Oxf). 2020 Mar;92(3):247-257.

Angus L, Leemaqz S, Ooi O, Cundill P, Silberstein N, Locke P, Zajac JD, Cheung AS. Cyproterone acetate or spironolactone in lowering testosterone concentrations for transgender individuals receiving estradiol therapy. Endocrine Connections 2019; 8(7):935-940

Cheung AS, Ooi O, Leemaqz S, Cundill P, Silberstein N, Bretherton I, Thrower E, Locke P, Grossmann M, Zajac JD. Sociodemographic and Clinical Characteristics of Transgender Adults in Australia. Transgender Health 2018; 3(1), 229-238

Posters & Info Sheets

Review Publications

Nolan BJ and Cheung AS. Estradiol therapy in the perioperative period: implications for transfeminine individuals. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 2020 [accepted 23rd May 2020]

Thrower E, Bretherton I, Pang KC, Zajac JD, Cheung AS. Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder amongst individuals with gender dysphoria: a systematic review. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 2020 Mar;50(3):695-706.

Cheung AS, Wynne K, Murray S, Erasmus J, Zajac JD. Position statement on the hormonal management of transgender and gender diverse individuals in Australia. Medical Journal of Australia 2019 Aug;211(3):127-133

Spanos C, Bretherton I, Zajac JD, Cheung AS. Effects of gender-affirming hormone therapy on insulin resistance and body composition in transgender individuals: A systematic review. World Journal of Diabetes 2020 Mar 15;11(3):66-77.

Chew D, Tollit MA, Poulakis Z, Zwickl S, Cheung AS, Pang KC. Youths with a non-binary gender identity: a review of their sociodemographic and clinical profile. Lancet Child & Adolescent Health 2020 Apr;4(4):322-330

McFarlane T, Zajac JD, Cheung AS. Gender-affirming hormone therapy and the risk of sex hormone-dependent tumours in transgender individuals – a systematic review. Clinical Endocrinology (Oxf) 2018 Dec;89(6):700-711

Our Published Research

Original Research Publications

Posters & Info Sheets

Review Publications

A fair go for all Aussies!