20 of 2,083 adolescents and young adults referred to Finnish gender services died by suicide (about 1%), with pre-existing psychiatric comorbidities largely explaining the elevated risk.

A Finnish nationwide register study followed 2,083 adolescents and young adults who had been referred to gender identity services. During long-term follow-up, twenty individuals (0.96%) died by suicide.

Suicide mortality was initially higher among those referred to gender services than among matched controls from the general population (0.51 versus 0.12 deaths per 1,000 person-years). However, after taking previous psychiatric treatment into account, the difference was no longer statistically significant. The findings suggest that pre-existing psychiatric comorbidities, rather than gender referral status itself, are the primary predictors of suicide mortality. The study found that a history of psychiatric treatment largely explained the elevated suicide risk.

^{Ruuska, S. M., Tuisku, K., Holttinen, T., & Kaltiala, R. (2024). All-cause and suicide mortalities among adolescents and young adults who contacted specialised gender identity services in Finland in 1996-2019: A register study. BMJ Mental Health, 27(1), Article e300940. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjment-2023-300940}