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NIH-funded study touting hormone drugs for trans teens panned as ‘unserious’ for ignoring ‘long-term impact’

January 19, 2023 | | Print Article

A new NIH-funded study that concluded children as young as 12 who receive so-called “gender-affirming hormones” (puberty blockers and such) wind up happier and better off is facing steep criticism over its grossly flawed methodology.

For the study, researchers at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago found transgender teens who were pursuing hormone treatments and then tracked their happiness over the next two years.

“In this 2-year study involving transgender and nonbinary youth, GAH improved appearance congruence and psychosocial functioning,” the study’s conclusion reads.

The problem with the study, which was published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine, is that two years isn’t enough, critics say.

Critics like Patrick Brown, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center think-tank.

“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,” he told the Daily Mail.

“There is a very real possibility the main issue [with one’s gender and appearance] would have abated without intervention anyways,” he added.

According to the Daily Mail, “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.”

The legitimacy of his points can be confirmed by just looking at all the adult detransitioners who pursued hormone therapy, surgery, etc., as teenagers but now regret their decisions.

A survey conducted last year by the Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine found that among a whopping 237 detransitioners, 70 percent of them detransitioned partly because they realized “their gender dysphoria was related to other issues.”

Similarly, 62 percent detransitioned because of “health concerns,” 50 percent detransitioned because transitioning “did not alleviate their dysphoria,” and 43 percent detransitioned because of “a change in political views.”

Dr. Jay Richards, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, also raised concerns about the study.

“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 told the Daily Mail, pointing to the litany of detransitioners who’ve appeared in recent years.

“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. 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,” he added.

That being said, there are probably far more detransitioners in America than have actually come forward, the reason being that coming forward brings certain risks.

Speaking with the Daily Mail, for example, detransitioner Cat Cattinson, 30, reported facing harassment from transgender zealots when she came forward.

“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 said.

“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,” she added.

Sinéad Watson, another detransitioner, has reported the same.

“I was called a liar, fake, shill and (funniest of all) a right-wing Christian sock. … I was mocked relentlessly and threatened – called a freak who should kill themselves. Over and over again. That’s when the threats started,” she wrote in a Twitter thread in November

“I was sent rape and death threats. 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,” she added.

View the start of the relevant thread below:

Vivek Saxena
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