Fatores associados às mudanças corporais de travestis e mulheres transexuais, em uma cidade do Nordeste brasileiro.

Abstract

Introduction: The aspects related to body modification in Travestis and Transgender Women (TGW) are still little explored regarding the health impacts of this vulnerable population. Little access to health services and discrimination are data that point to social exclusion and, consequently, to the increase in morbidities that may be related to the non-prescribed use of hormones, illicit use of industrial liquid silicone (ILS) and sexually transmitted infections like syphilis and HIV. Objective: To investigate the association between body change, sexual practices and sociodemographic aspects in TGW and health risks. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study, with 127 TGW recruited through the RDS method - Respondent Driven Sampling - or participant-directed sampling. The quantitative data came from an epidemiological survey, carried out between 2014 and 2016 in Salvador-Bahia-Brazil. Results: The data analyzed showed that 60% of the sample was less than 25 years old; that TGW make indiscriminate use of hormones in a non-prescribed manner and in high amounts, from 12 years of age. The proportion of ILS use was 31.6%, and the use of these substances is associated with sex work. In addition, a positive association was estimated between syphilis infection and unprotected receptive anal sex with clients (PR: 1.96; 95% CI = 0.85-4.53;), but without reaching statistical significance at the descriptive level p value = 0.05. Sexual practice with cis men in the six months prior to the survey also appears to be associated with syphilis infection (PR: 3.34; 95% CI = 0.77-14.40). Conclusion: The data suggest the need for investment in public health policies, which includes the reorganization of services aimed at the population of TGW, and better training of health professionals to meet these demands mentioned here.