The bone mineral density of teenagers taking puberty blockers did not increase to age-appropriate levels

Pre-teens   Puberty blockers   Teenagers  

In a prospective study1 of patients aged 12-15 referred to University College Hospital, London by the Gender Identity Development Service, bone mineral density (BMD) in the hip showed no change from baseline over 36 months. Spinal BMD showed some increase at 24 months, but at no point did BMD show an age-appropriate increase.

This study is compromised by the lack of follow-up once patients reached the age of 16, meaning there were significant effective drop-out rates at 24 and 36 months.

  1. Carmichael P, Butler G, Masic U, Cole TJ, De Stavola BL, Davidson S, Skageberg EM, Khadr S, Viner RM. Short-term outcomes of pubertal suppression in a selected cohort of 12 to 15 year old young people with persistent gender dysphoria in the UK. PLoS One. 2021 Feb 2;16(2):e0243894. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243894. PMID: 33529227; PMCID: PMC7853497. ↩︎
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