Better Mental Health Seen Among Transgender People Who Started Hormones As a Teenage | News Center

The analysis was managed for several factors that could affect a participant’s mental health, regardless of whether the participant received hormone therapy. Gender identity; Gender assigned at birth; Sexual orientation; Race or ethnicity; Level of family support for gender identity. Relationship status; Education level; Employment status; Household income; Use of adolescent suppression treatments; Attempts to force them into cisgender. Experience of oral, physical or sexual harassment based on gender identity in grade K-12.

Participants who received hormone therapy were less likely to experience severe psychological distress the previous month and were less likely to suicidal ideation in the previous year than members of the control group. The odds of severe psychological distress decreased by 222%, 153%, and 81% in those who started hormones in early adolescence, late adolescence, and adulthood, respectively. The odds of suicidal ideation in the previous year were 135% lower in those who started hormones in early adolescence, 62% in those who started in late adolescence, and 21% lower in those who started as adults.

In addition, participants who started hormones in early or late adolescence had lower odds of drinking and illicit drug use over the past month than those who started hormones in adulthood.

However, researchers have found that people who start hormone therapy in adulthood are more likely to engage in heavy drinking and the use of illicit substances than those who have never had access to the treatment. “Beginning to take hormones can build confidence and increase social involvement,” Turban said, and in some cases this increased self-confidence and social involvement may be related to substance use. I added that there is. “This finding demonstrates the importance of creating a culturally coordinated drug use counseling program for transgender individuals.”

To find out if the mental health of pretreatment participants affected their ability to receive treatment, researchers also found that participants in each group had committed suicide in the past, but had no suicide feelings the previous year. I evaluated whether it was.

“This was a measure of mental health that improved over time,” Turban said. “People were more likely to meet these criteria when they accessed and ingested hormones than they did not.” This finding improved mental health, rather than vice versa. He said it suggests that.

Build Gender-Affirming Medical Evidence

Turban and his colleagues want lawmakers across the country to use the new findings to inform their policy-making. Several legislation banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth has recently been introduced into the state legislature, but almost all are not legal, he said, and all major medical institutions have: He added that he supports the provision of medical care that affirms gender, including. Hormone therapy for patients who desire it and meet the criteria set by the Endocrine Society and the World Association of Transgender Health Professionals.

“There is no right way to be transgender,” Turban said. Some transgender people don’t want to take hormones and don’t want their body to feel as comfortable as it is now. Young people seeking care at a gender clinic receive regular counseling as part of their treatment to help them understand which type of care is best for their situation.

For those who want sex-verifying hormones, denial of access to treatment can cause significant distress, Turban said.

“For some transgender adolescents, their negative reaction to living in a body that develops in a way that does not match those who know who they are during adolescence is very damaging. I could give it, “he said. For example, a person who is uncomfortable with breast development can react by tying the breast tightly, which can lead to skin infections and rib fractures.

“These results aren’t surprising to providers, but unfortunately many lawmakers have never met transgender youth,” Turban said. “It is important for legislators to see the numbers that support the experience of transgender youth, their families, and those who work in this area.”

Researchers at the Fenway Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health contributed to this research.

This study is funded by the American Academy of Youth and Child Psychology (supported by industry sponsors Arbor and Pfizer), Harvey L. and Mode C. Sorensen Foundation, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (Grant MH094612), and the Department of Health Resources. I did. Service management (granted U30CS22742).