About a third of trans-identified teens put on puberty blockers suffered a significant decline in mental health, according to new analysis of a survey from the United Kingdom.
In August, researchers published an updated review of data from a 2021 study in the U.K. on medRxiv, a preprint service for medical research. The original study conducted by the U.K. National Health Service (NHS) examined 44 children aged 12 to 15 over three years who were prescribed puberty-blocking drugs to treat gender dysphoria. Participants took triptorelin, a prostate cancer medicine used to inhibit the synthesis of estrogen in women and testosterone in men.
According to researchers at the University of Essex, the mental health of between 20 and 34 percent of participants significantly deteriorated over the course of treatment. Just between 9 and 20 percent reported a reliable improvement. Between 56 and 68 percent witnessed no change in distress.
In other words, less than a fifth of those prescribed puberty-blocking drugs, if that, experienced emotional improvement following treatment. The findings contradict broad claims that such medical interventions are necessary to save gender-confused children from the perils of suicidal ideation. While the updated analysis from the University of Essex has yet to be peer-reviewed, another long-term study from Sweden found those who underwent transgender surgery were 19 times more likely to die by suicide than the general public.
The national suicide hotline is 1-800-273-8255. More resources are here.
A U.S. study published in 2019 found nearly 60 percent of trans-identified
