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A Government-funded study that endorses sex change drugs for children as young as 12 has come under fire from experts and campaigners.
The research – the largest of its kind – monitored around 315 teenage Americans with gender dysphoria who received puberty blockers or hormone therapy drugs.
Results from surveys carried out every six months for two years showed patients reported significant improvements in happiness, confidence and anxiety.
But Patrick Brown, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center think-tank, told DailyMail.com the two-year study period was too narrow a snapshot for young people to fully grasp the impact the change could have on their life.
In recent months, there has been a string of ‘de-transitioners’ who have come forward saying they regret taking hormone drugs or having genital reconstruction surgery.
Patrick Brown (left), a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, said that two years is not long enough a time to decide whether hormone care helped these teens’ mental health. Dr Jay Richards (right), a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said the study ‘tells us nothing’
Mr Brown said: ‘Two years is far too short a time to have any true evaluation of these kinds of interventions that have long-term consequences.
‘It’s too soon to tell which participants might experience regret over something life-altering without fully understanding its costs.’
Hormone therapy is an umbrella term for drugs that boosts the levels of hormones naturally created by a person of the opposite sex, giving a person the desired characteristics.
Transmen receive testosterone, while transwomen will receive estriadol.
The latest research was led by Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
It was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
A large portion of the study group was between the ages 14 and 18 when they started the treatment.
Researchers report that 180 of them had previously received puberty blockers.
Participants were given a check-up every six months for the first two years after they started the hormone treatment, where they were surveyed on mental health.
On average, the teens’ symptoms of gender dysphoria had lessoned, and they felt their appearance more matched the gender they identified with.
Patients also reported that they were more satisfied with their lives after they had started the treatment.
Over the study period, two participants died by suicide, and two others suffered a severe anxiety attack.
Sinead Watson, from Glasgow, Scotland, lived as man from the age of 23 and had a double mastectomy, but realized at age 27 that she had made a terrible mistake, and de-transitioned at 28. She spoke out on social media this week about widespread harassment from the transgender community she was leaving: ‘I was sent rape and death threats,’ posted Watson, pictured earlier this year. ‘I was called a hideous freak show.’
Researchers also noted reduced rates of depression and anxiety symptoms over the study period.
‘Our results provide a strong scientific basis that gender-affirming care is crucial for the psychological well-being of our patients,’ Dr Robert Garofalo, co-author of the study from Lurie Children’s, said in a statement.
Many disagree with this conclusion and say the study did not go on for long enough to make this determination.
Mr Brown said: ‘There is a very real possibility the main issue [with one’s gender and appearance] would have abated without intervention anyways,’ he continued.
He also says that other types of care may have also helped these young children feel more satisfied with their lives, like counseling or other changes in their life.
Mr Brown also noted that some young people who may not have been happy with their care would be less likely to take part in this type of study – and would not participate in follow-up interviews.
Dr Jay Richards, a senior fellow at the right-wing Heritage Foundation, also raised concerns that the study timeframe was not long enough.
‘It tells us nothing about the long-term benefits and costs to so-called “gender-affirming care.” And that’s precisely what any serious study should focus on,’ he said.
He cited the growing number of de-transitioners that have emerged in recent years, many saying years later that they wish they did not start the irreversible treatment as a teen.
‘We already know from widespread testimony of de-transitioners, and from clinical testimony, that young people struggling with gender confusion and incongruence often like the initial changes brought on by cross-sex hormones,’ he continued.
‘This is common sense. No one should be surprised that they report this on a survey. Some females report feelings of euphoria, for instance, when first taking testosterone.’
De-transitioners like Cat Cattinson, 30, from northern California, report being harassed online by trans activists when they come forward with their stories.
‘I’ve seen the level of hate really escalate to the point that any time a new de-transitioner shares their story online, they get dogpiled by thousands of trans activists, bullied, ridiculed, and of course death threats,’ she told DailyMail.com.
‘For every de-transitioner with a public platform, the new trend has been to call us liars and grifters and just try to invalidate everything we say.’
Cattinson, 30, a singer and musician, grew up as female but identified as male from age 13.
Sinéad Watson, from Scotland, began her medical female-to-male transition in 2015 at age 24, but was regretting her full mastectomy and other procedures within three years. She stopped taking testosterone in 2019 as she detransitioned.
She this week told her 45,000 Twitter followers about how her public statements about reverting to female were met with claims that she was a ‘liar, fake, shill and (funniest of all) a right-wing Christian sock’.
‘I was sent rape and death threats,’ she posted.
‘I was called a hideous freakshow. Hundreds of accounts with anime and furry pfps told me it was such a shame that my last suicide attempt had failed. I deserved to suffer.’
But, pro-trans advocates argue puberty blockers and hormone therapies make them feel more aligned with themselves – boosting their overall health as a result.
Hormone therapies and gender affirming care for minors is a highly controversial topic. There are bans or restrictions on the practice in place in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida and Texas.