The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a study funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) that found cross-sex hormones “improved” psychosocial functioning for transgender and nonbinary adolescents, The Daily Caller reports.
However, the study also revealed that two participants committed suicide and 11 more developed suicidal ideation, referring to thoughts or ideas about committing suicide. “The most common adverse event was suicidal ideation (in 11 participants [3.5%]); death by suicide occurred in 2 participants,” the study results read.
The study examined 315 transgender and nonbinary adolescents aged 12–20.
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the suicide rate for people aged 15–24 was 14.24 per 100,000 in 2020. The New England Journal of Medicine study showed a suicide rate of 634.9 per 100,000.
While the study observed a causal relationship between cross-sex hormones and psychosocial improvements, it lacked a control group and was an observational study, not a randomized trial, making it impossible to determine whether the hormones or something else impacted patients’ mental health.
Moreover, biological males did not see any improvements in depression, anxiety, or life satisfaction.
Despite these findings, the study’s conclusion states: “Overall, our results provide evidence that [gender-affirming hormones] improved appearance congruence and psychosocial functioning in transgender and nonbinary youth.”
Dr. Steven Levine, a psychiatrist and clinical psychiatry professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, expressed skepticism about the use of hormones for teenagers and called for more thorough evaluations and investigations into the causes of transgender symptoms in adolescents, rather than quickly medicalizing them.
“I’m a little skeptical of the use of hormones for teenagers and I think we need to be more truthful about what is known and what is not known,” Levine said.
He continued: “All other psychiatric problems in teenagers are dealt with by thorough evaluation and investigation about the cause of their symptoms … but for some reason transgender symptoms in adolescents, especially rapid onset, have been treated as an exception, and there are all these rationalizations doctors use to rapidly medicalize these kids … no psychiatrist, no psychologist, can spend 50 minutes with a kid and know the best thing to do.”