Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC ENDOCRINOLOGY
Volume 2020, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
BMC
DOI: 10.1186/s13633-020-00078-2
Keywords
Transgender; Transgender management; Transgender youth; Depression; Suicide; Suicidal ideation; Quality of life; GnRH analogue; Puberty suppression; Puberty; Testosterone; Estrogen; Cross sex hormone
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background/aims Transgender youths experience high rates of depression and suicidal ideation compared to cisgender peers. Previous studies indicate that endocrine and/or surgical interventions are associated with improvements to mental health in adult transgender individuals. We examined the associations of endocrine intervention (puberty suppression and/or cross sex hormone therapy) with depression and quality of life scores over time in transgender youths. Methods At approximately 6-month intervals, participants completed depression and quality of life questionnaires while participating in endocrine intervention. Multiple linear regression and residualized change scores were used to compare outcomes. Results Between 2013 and 2018, 50 participants (mean age 16.2 + 2.2 yr) who were naive to endocrine intervention completed 3 waves of questionnaires. Mean depression scores and suicidal ideation decreased over time while mean quality of life scores improved over time. When controlling for psychiatric medications and engagement in counseling, regression analysis suggested improvement with endocrine intervention. This reached significance in male-to-female participants. Conclusion Endocrine intervention may improve mental health in transgender youths in the US. This effect was observed in both male-to-female and female-to-male youths, but appears stronger in the former.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available