Rates of suicidality and self-harm did not improve in teenagers taking puberty blockers.

Mental health   Pre-teens   Puberty blockers   Suicide   Teenagers  

In a prospective study1 of patients aged 12-15 referred to University College Hospital, London by the Gender Identity Development Service, patients on puberty blockers showed no change in rates of suicidality or self-harm.

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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