Gender dysphoria is the distress that an individual may feel due to their gender identity not matching the sex they were assigned at birth. While gender dysphoria typically affects transgender and gender diverse individuals, it is important to note that not all transgender and gender diverse people experience it, nor does everyone seek gender-affirming care.

The association between alcohol abuse and erectile dysfunction (ED) is well-documented in medical literature. Healthy erectile functioning relies on signals being passed effectively through the body’s nervous system and good blood flow to the penis, which are two processes that alcohol consumption can hamper (at least temporarily). In particular, chronic alcohol abuse has been shown to lead to an increase in erectile difficulties in men, though luckily these effects may be reversible.

Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM) is a condition that is estimated to affect about half of all postmenopausal women. It occurs when the decline in estrogen that accompanies menopause causes undesirable changes in the urogenital system such as vaginal and vulvar dryness, itchiness, burning, and frequent, urgent, and/or painful urination.

In the short term, stressful situations prompt alertness and focus, allowing people to deal more effectively with the challenge at hand. However, ongoing stress can result in an overactive nervous system, which is disruptive to the body’s natural processes and can leave a person more vulnerable to mental and physical health issues.

Social support and social connectedness have been shown to be protective against mental health disorders like anxiety and depression because people are better able to deal with difficult situations when they have the support of others. Unfortunately, past research has shown that transgender people may have lower levels of social support than other individuals. What’s more, social connectedness for people around the world was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated social distancing to contain the spread of the virus.

There is a well-established association between depression and sexual dysfunction in both men and women. Although many factors influence this association, experts generally agree that depression affects individuals’ cognitive processes, altering their attention, perception, and evaluation of events, which has the potential to impair sexual experiences.

A migraine is a neurovascular headache that is often characterized by severe throbbing pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. Sometimes, migraines are accompanied by other conditions such as depression, anxiety, gastrointestinal disorders, and/or chronic pain conditions. As they often recur in individuals, migraines can be disruptive and debilitating, leading to missed social engagements, lost time at work, and even a noticeable decrease in quality of life.

Ample scientific evidence suggests that youth who suffer from psychiatric disorders are more likely to experience difficulties during their sexual and gender identity development. Several factors may contribute to these difficulties, including feelings of low self-worth, trouble finding romantic partners, the sexual side effects of many psychotropic medications, and the higher-than-average prevalence of sexual trauma among individuals with mental health conditions. Nevertheless, sexuality remains an infrequently discussed topic between mental health care providers, adolescent patients, and patients’ parents.

Phalloplasty and metoidioplasty are the two most common gender-affirming penile reconstruction procedures available to transmasculine patients at this point in time. For a phalloplasty procedure, the surgeon utilizes tissue from different areas of the patient’s body such as the forearm, thigh, and abdomen to construct a penis. Metoidioplasty involves releasing the clitoris from the tissues that hold it down and repositioning the genital tissues to create a neophallus, or “new penis.”

Transgender individuals may decide to seek gender-affirming care to transition their physical characteristics to match their gender identity. Two standard gender-affirming treatment options are gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) and gender-affirming surgery (GAS). Individuals may choose to use GAHT as a standalone therapy or in combination with GAS.

Some medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injury (SCI), and dysraphism can result in neurogenic bladder dysfunction, which means that an individual lacks bladder control due to an issue with their nerves, spinal cord, or brain. When conservative measures to address neurogenic bladder dysfunction fail, sometimes patients opt to undergo a surgery to enlarge their bladder (augmentation cystoplasty) or a surgery to remove their bladder (simple or radical cystectomy).

Many studies have demonstrated an association between erectile dysfunction (ED) and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, particularly in older men. Nevertheless, the causal relationship between these conditions remains difficult to define. For instance, depression and anxiety have been identified as risk factors for ED, but past research also suggests that having ED may predispose a person to developing depression or anxiety. What’s more, growing evidence has indicated a greater prevalence of ED in young men than what has historically been acknowledged. Therefore, it is increasingly important to clarify the association between ED and mental health conditions in young men.