Trans women retain 12% edge in tests two years after transitioning

[Winesalot]

This is interesting. I look forward to seeing the study.

I would like to know how long they continued to track the participants and whether they changed their exercise regime at all. And how many years before that speed advantage disappeared. Did the lower rep/speed requirements mean the participants no longer trained the same? There are so many questions and It seems restricted to timed sit ups, push ups and running.

And of course, will the IOC do anything in time for the Olympics?

‘When asked for its response to the new research the IOC said it was now working on a “a framework for voluntary guidelines on the basis of gender identity and sex characteristics”, adding: “Overall, the discussions to date have confirmed considerable tension between the notions of fairness and inclusion, and the desire and need to protect the women’s category, all of which will need to be reconciled. The IOC aims to release this framework in 2021.” ‘

Emma Hilton will be checking this study out I am sure. Particularly with an eye on her and Tommy Lundberg’s review that I believe is due to be published soon as it has come through peer review apparently.

[Winesalot]

www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/07/study-suggests-ioc-adjustment-period-for-trans-women-may-be-too-short

[EmpressWitchDoesntBurn]

Very interesting. Thanks Winesalot.

[Winesalot]

And here is the study. I will wait to see if there is any copies that are not behind a paywall in the future to read.

bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2020/11/06/bjsports-2020-102329

Effect of gender affirming hormones on athletic performance in transwomen and transmen: implications for sporting organisations and legislators

Author; Timothy A Roberts, Joshua Smalley, Dale Ahrendt


Abstract

Objective To examine the effect of gender affirming hormones on athletic performance among transwomen and transmen.

Methods We reviewed fitness test results and medical records of 29 transmen and 46 transwomen who started gender affirming hormones while in the United States Air Force. We compared pre- and post-hormone fitness test results of the transwomen and transmen with the average performance of all women and men under the age of 30 in the Air Force between 2004 and 2014. We also measured the rate of hormone associated changes in body composition and athletic performance.

Results Participants were 26.2 years old (SD 5.5). Prior to gender affirming hormones, transwomen performed 31% more push-ups and 15% more sit-ups in 1 min and ran 1.5 miles 21% faster than their female counterparts. After 2 years of taking feminising hormones, the push-up and sit-up differences disappeared but transwomen were still 12% faster. Prior to gender affirming hormones, transmen performed 43% fewer push-ups and ran 1.5 miles 15% slower than their male counterparts. After 1 year of taking masculinising hormones, there was no longer a difference in push-ups or run times, and the number of sit-ups performed in 1 min by transmen exceeded the average performance of their male counterparts.

Summary The 15–31% athletic advantage that transwomen displayed over their female counterparts prior to starting gender affirming hormones declined with feminising therapy. However, transwomen still had a 9% faster mean run speed after the 1 year period of testosterone suppression that is recommended by World Athletics for inclusion in women’s events.

[DancelikeEmmaGoldman]

World Rugby have a useful infographic on rhe available research.

resources.world.rugby/worldrugby/document/2020/10/09/a67e3cc3-7dea-4f1e-b523-2cba1073729d/Transgender-Research_Summary-of-data_ENGLISH-09.10.2020.pdf

[Winesalot]

EmpressWitchDoesntBurn

Small steps back to fair sport for women, isn’t it? Sadly, how many girls and women will miss their opportunity in the meantime.

[EmpressWitchDoesntBurn]

Encouraging that it’s the Guardian who are posting it though.

[Winesalot]

Sean Ingle does have a history of even handed reporting as these decisions and studies come out.

It looks like this study is very freshly published.

[DancelikeEmmaGoldman]

If men gi through normal male puberty, they are always going to retain a significant physical advantage. Testosterone as an adult male, is not the only arbiter of advantage.

Height, stronger bones, greater lean mass, capacity for building muscle, neuro-muscular capacity to recruit power, larger hearts, thicker skulls, angle of hips, and muscle attachment are all retained, even with low testosterone. Testosterone levels are a furphy, men who have very low testosterone for medical reasons are still stronger than women.

[Winesalot]

Testosterone levels are a furphy, I agree.

What is important about this study is that hopefully it will add to the discussion to make a positive if only incremental change to the current IOC guidelines that were relying on Harper’s study.

I feel that there also may be an issue here to with females having lower physical training requirements in the military meaning these participants may have completely changed their training to suit those. Ie. They may not be striving to beat personal bests and be competing at high levels.

It also seems they have not measured strength or taken any other measurements. So, it is not going to be applicable widely
across different sports.

However, I don’t feel there is much that can be done except these incremental steps for the near future until some dedicated longitudinal studies on transwomen sports are released.

I feel hopeful there are some more significant studies coming soon if you read Ross Tucker’s tweets. And of course Dr Hilton and Tommy Lundberg’s review is due to be published soon with amendments. And of course, that particular review featured in the World Rugby decision already because it was, as we know, a review of the 11 existing peer reviewed studies.

[NotBadConsidering]

@Winesalot

Sean Ingle does have a history of even handed reporting as these decisions and studies come out.

It looks like this study is very freshly published.

Sean Ingle is definitely on the side of fairness in sport and definitely sees the problem, but funnily enough there aren’t 338 people calling for his sacking. I wonder why?

[Matzeeo]

So the transmen by taking testosterone were able to match and for sit ups exceed the athletic performance of males? That I find hard to believe. A female body can perform better than a male body, they just need a shed load of testosterone...

[highame]

Encouraging that it’s the Guardian who are posting it though.

I thought that too Empress. Have recently seen another more (edging towards) GC view. Is some business sense creeping in? Will watch and wait and still very sceptical

[HecatesCatsInXmasHats]

Thanks for sharing. Agree that it's good that The Guardian have published and that they've focused the headline and top paragraph on this key information, instead of spinning it line with an agenda, not something they've always done. As you say it would be good to have more context to understand the strength stats, they don't really make sense to me.

[SophocIestheFox]

Interesting. And The Guardian have managed not to publish it under dire warnings of it literally murdering thousands of people, which is progress of a sort I suppose.

I am continuingly frustrated by this focus on testosterone levels as if they hold the answer. We must always hold the line that they are irrelevant. A male body with lowered testosterone levels is still a male body and we should start with the presumption that they ought to be excluded from women’s sports.

I had to google furphy

[Winesalot]

I had to google furphy

It is a good word. It is used often in our house.

[HecatesCatsInXmasHats]

I had to google furphy

Same!

[picklemewalnuts]

It's a good bit of research though, in that it's a neat set up. I'm sure it's not all encompassing but it's a tidy start.

[MoltenLasagne]

A 9% difference is huge in sporting terms. It's good to see a start and evidence that the one year of testosterone suppression required by the IOC is just absurd as a leveller.

[HecatesCatsInXmasHats]

When it initially published its transgender guidelines five years ago, the IOC said its “overriding sporting objective is and remains the guarantee of fair competition”.

[Deltoids1]

Ross Tucker is on it:

twitter.com/Scienceofsport/status/1336207510513065986?s=20

[RufustheSniggeringReindeer]

@Matzeeo

So the transmen by taking testosterone were able to match and for sit ups exceed the athletic performance of males? That I find hard to believe. A female body can perform better than a male body, they just need a shed load of testosterone...

I read this ages ago

Women are better at sit ups...pushups? No chance, but yeah to situps

[RufustheSniggeringReindeer]

But i agree regarding everything else

It just suits some people to believe that testosterone is the answer

[Winesalot]

Here is the end of that tweet thread in case people don’t use twitter. The conclusion from Ross Tucker is:

‘ My CONCLUSION, then, is that there remains ZERO good evidence that T suppression can ensure fairness (or safety). There is now plenty of evidence that a large proportion of male physiological attributes and therefore performance advantages persist despite T suppression’

‘ The notion (or hope) that fairness and inclusion can be ‘balanced’, which underpins many policies and is even shared by many scientists, is unsupported, and indeed refuted, by the evidence available to us. Given limitations, more studies are of course required.’

‘Finally, this is the latest study (of 13, I count) showing pretty much the same thing. They have limitations, but they are consistent & solid. The first of them was by Gooren, and it concluded, astonishingly, that because T suppression caused some strength reductions, that...’

‘…TW could compete fairly with women depending "on what degree of arbitrariness one wishes to accept”. In other words, fairness can be arbitrary for women’s sport. But even then, it was clear that retained advantages would undermine the meaning of the women’s category’

‘Unless of course, decision makers & academics decide this fairness (& safety, in instances where physical risk is a factor) is secondary in importance. Which, coming full circle to this study, is what would be implied if the policies didn’t recognise this latest evidence’

Apparently, this is a study he was hinting was coming recently to those arguing that WR had not looked at transwomen sports people.

[HecatesCatsInXmasHats]

An easy fix to organisations being lobbied hard to include transwomen in female sport? Remain very impressed with World Rugby. I hope they hang on in there and that studies like these make it easier for other organisations to join them.