Introduction The 100-item World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment (WHOQOL-100) evaluates quality of life as a subjective and multidimensional construct. Currently, particularly in Brazil, there are controversies concerning quality of life after sex reassignment surgery (SRS). Aim To assess the impact of surgical interventions on quality of life of 47 Brazilian male-to-female transsexual individuals using the WHOQOL-100. Methods This was a prospective cohort study using the WHOQOL-100 and sociodemographic questions for individuals diagnosed with gender identity disorder according to criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. The protocol was used when a transsexual person entered the ambulatory clinic and at least 12 months after SRS. Main Outcome Measures Initially, improvement or worsening of quality of life was assessed using 6 domains and 24 facets. Subsequently, quality of life was assessed for individuals who underwent new surgical interventions and those who did not undergo these procedures 1 year after SRS. Results The participants showed significant improvement after SRS in domains II (psychological) and IV (social relationships) of the WHOQOL-100. In contrast, domains I (physical health) and III (level of independence) were significantly worse after SRS. Individuals who underwent additional surgery had a decrease in quality of life reflected in domains II and IV. During statistical analysis, all results were controlled for variations in demographic characteristics, without significant results. Conclusion The WHOQOL-100 is an important instrument to evaluate the quality of life of male-to-female transsexuals during different stages of treatment. SRS promotes the improvement of psychological aspects and social relationships. However, even 1 year after SRS, male-to-female transsexuals continue to report problems in physical health and difficulty in recovering their independence.

TEMA: a eficácia da técnica de vibração sonorizada de língua (TVSL). OBJETIVO: investigar o impacto vocal e laríngeo e as sensações surgidas frente à execução da técnica de vibração sonorizada de língua. MÉTODO: a TVSL foi aplicada em três séries de quinze repetições, em tempo máximo de fonação com tom e intensidade habituais, com intervalos de 30 segundos de repouso passivo entre cada série. Participaram do estudo 24 sujeitos, do sexo feminino, com idades entre 20 e 30 anos, sem queixas vocais. Todos esses indivíduos foram submetidos à avaliação da laringe, por meio do exame de videolaringoestroboscopia, análise perceptivo-auditiva e acústica da voz, por meio dos programas Multi-Dimensional Voice Programa (MDVP), Model 5105 e Real Time Spectrogram, da Key Elemetrics, antes e após a execução da TVSL. RESULTADOS: após a execução da TVSL evidenciou-se diferença estatisticamente significativa para: a melhora do tipo de voz; do foco de ressonância vertical; da qualidade vocal; o predomínio de sensações positivas; a manutenção dos parâmetros das imagens laríngeas (fechamento glótico, constrição do vestíbulo laríngeo, amplitude e simetria de vibração das pregas vocais); o aumento da freqüência fundamental; a melhora de parâmetros da avaliação espectrográfica, em filtros de Banda Larga e Banda Estreita e a melhora da constrição medial do vestíbulo, conforme o aumento do tempo de execução da TVSL. CONCLUSÃO: a TVSL apresenta modificações sobre a fonte glótica e sobre o filtro ressonantal.

Transgender and gender diverse people (TGD) have specific healthcare needs and struggles with access barriers that should be addressed by public health systems. Our study aimed to address this topic in the Brazilian context. A hospital and web-based cross-sectional survey built with input from the medical and transgender communities was developed to assess TGD healthcare needs of and access barriers in two Brazilian states. Although services that assist this population have existed in Brazil since the 1990s, TGD have difficulty accessing these services due to discrimination, lack of information and a policy design that does not meet the needs of TGD. A history of discrimination was associated with a 6.72-fold increase in the frequency of health service avoidance [95% CI (4.5, 10.1)]. This article discusses the urgent necessity for adequate health policies and for the training of professionals regarding the needs of Brazilian TGD.

The aim of this study is to investigate HIV-related healthcare needs and access barriers for Brazilian transgender and gender diverse people. Data were collected from gender identity clinics and the questionnaire was also made available on the Internet. Out of the 543 participants-62.1% (n = 337) transgender women, 28.7 (n = 156) transgender men and 9.2% (n = 50) gender diverse people, 63.7% had been tested at least once in their lives. The prevalence of self-reported HIV-positive status among transgender women was 16.5%, of which 92.0% reported having a physician with whom they regularly consulted about HIV, whereas none of the transgender men or gender diverse people reported HIV-positive status. In addition, 8.2% of transgender men and 12.5% of gender diverse people did not know their serological status. Finally, 71.0% of the participants were unfamiliar with post-exposure prophylaxis. The study discusses the need for adequate behavior-oriented HIV health policies and training of healthcare professionals regarding the needs of Brazilian transgender and gender diverse people.

NA Laryngoscope, 127:2596-2603, 2017.

It is important to establish normal voice standards in order to help guide voice professionals. Aim: to describe acoustic voice measures of adult young women with normal larynxes and without voice complaints. Method: 56 women underwent ENT evaluation and speech screening. The "A" vowel utterance was digitally recorded and analyzed by means of the Praat (Version 4.6.10) software. The data was analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and by the Shapiro-Wilk test with a 5% significance level. The study was cross-section and exploratory. Results: normal distribution measures were: fundamental frequency; Jitter (local); Jitter (local, absolute); Jitter (ppq5); Jitter (ddp). The Jitter (rap), all the Shimmer, the noise/harmonic ratio (NHR) and the harmonic/noise ratio (HNR) values did not follow a normal distribution. Conclusion: It seems that the measures which followed the normal distribution can be used as base-normal values for the interpretation of acoustic voice analysis of those women with and without laryngeal disorders. All the values with and without normal distribution showed results similar to the ones present in the national and international literature.

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