Trans-identified adolescents are prescribed psychotropic medications more than twice as often as their siblings, with rates increasing after medical transition.
A 2021 study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine1 found that trans-identified adolescents in the US military healthcare system were prescribed psychotropic medications (such as antidepressants, sleep aids, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers) at more than double the rate of their siblings (IRR = 2.57), with prescriptions increasing after “gender-affirming pharmaceutical initiation” (IRR = 1.67). The study compared mental health diagnoses, service use, and medication patterns before and after this medical transition step.