Table 2.
Comparisons of functional health and mental well-being among kathoeys and toms in Chiang Mai, Thailand
| All transgender participants |
Katdoeys (n=60) |
Toms (n=60) |
p- value |
| Dispositional optimism – mean ± SD | 12.9 ± 0.3 | 13.0 ± 0.2 | 0.73 |
| Social Functioning Questionnaire – mean ± SD | 7.0 ± 0.4 | 6.6 ± 0.4 | 0.51 |
| Short Form 36 (SF-36) subscales: | |||
| • Bodily pain | 63.3 ± 4.0 | 64.7 ± 3.8 | 0.81 |
| • Role-Physical | 77.1 ± 4.1 | 85.8 ± 3.6 | 0.11 |
| • Physical functioning | 76.2 ± 2.4 | 80.5 ± 2.0 | 0.17 |
| • Social functioning | 71.1 ± 3.4 | 72.8 ± 2.7 | 0.70 |
| • Mental health | 64.5 ± 2.1 | 67.1 ± 2.0 | 0.39 |
| • Role-Emotional | 72.2 ± 4.8 | 78.9 ± 4.4 | 0.31 |
| • Vitality | 64.1 ± 1.8 | 65.6 ± 1.9 | 0.57 |
| • General health | 60.0 ± 2.5 | 60.2 ± 2.3 | 0.96 |
|
Transgender participants using cross-sex hormones |
Kathoeys (n=44) |
Toms (n=21) |
p- value |
| Dispositional optimism – mean ± SD | 12.8 ± 0.4 | 12.8 ± 0.5 | 0.99 |
| Social Functioning Questionnaire – mean ± SD | 7.3 ± 0.4 | 7.5 ± 0.5 | 0.67 |
| Short Form 36 (SF-36) subscales: | |||
| • Bodily pain | 61.4 ± 4.9 | 50.5 ± 6.6 | 0.20 |
| • Role-Physical | 75.6 ± 5.2 | 81.0 ± 7.3 | 0.55 |
| • Physical functioning | 75.5 ± 2.8 | 78.8 ± 2.8 | 0.46 |
| • Social functioning | 72.0 ± 3.5 | 68.3 ± 4.6 | 0.53 |
| • Mental health | 62.1 ± 2.4 | 58.7 ± 3.4 | 0.42 |
| • Role-Emotional | 68.2 ± 5.8 | 71.4 ± 7.7 | 0.75 |
| • Vitality | 62.2 ± 2.2 | 60.7 ± 2.8 | 0.70 |
| • General health | 58.5 ± 3.0 | 54.3 ± 4.1 | 0.42 |
|
Transgender participants not using cross-sex hormones |
Kathoeys (n=16) |
Toms (n=39) |
p- value |
| Dispositional optimism – mean ± SD | 13.2 ± 0.5 | 13.1 ± 0.2 | 0.91 |
| Social Functioning Questionnaire – mean ± SD | 6.3 ± 1.0 | 6.1 ± 0.6 | 0.90 |
| Short Form 36 (SF-36) subscales: | |||
| • Bodily pain | 68.8 ± 7.1 | 72.3 ± 4.3 | 0.66 |
| • Role-Physical | 81.3 ± 6.3 | 88.5 ± 4.0 | 0.33 |
| • Physical functioning | 78.1 ± 4.3 | 81.4 ± 2.7 | 0.52 |
| • Social functioning | 68.8 ± 8.5 | 75.2 ± 3.4 | 0.40 |
| • Mental health | 71.3 ± 4.2 | 71.6 ± 2.3 | 0.94 |
| • Role-Emotional | 83.3 ± 8.1 | 82.9 ± 5.3 | 0.97 |
| • Vitality | 69.4 ± 2.9 | 68.2 ± 2.5 | 0.79 |
| • General health | 64.1 ± 4.4 | 63.3 ± 2.8 | 0.89 |
Data are mean ± standard errors (SE). p-value by t-test for independent samples. Higher scores on the social functioning questionnaire indicate worse social functioning, whereas higher scores on dispositional optimism and the SF-36 indicate higher optimism and better quality of life.