New study from Finland revolutionizes our approach to transgender children
The advocacy for gender-transition treatment in children relies on the assertion that pediatric medical interventions are not only “medically necessary” but also “life-saving.”
However, there has been no attempt by researchers to verify the truth of this claim.
Finally, a significant new study from Finland found that administering cross-sex hormones and gender-transition surgeries to adolescents and young adults did not have a notable impact on suicide deaths. Additionally, severe gender distress leading young individuals to seek gender clinics did not independently contribute to a higher suicide death rate.
Interestingly, a higher frequency of appointments with mental health professionals, indicating severe mental health issues, was linked to a greater risk of suicide in young adults.
As a result, the researchers concluded two key points: Firstly, while suicide deaths were more common in gender-distressed young people, they were still rare. Secondly, the higher suicide rate in this group was linked to the prevalence of severe psychiatric issues rather than their gender distress.
The authors of the study suggested that what these young people urgently need is comprehensive mental health care rather than controversial medical interventions.
This study delves into a contentious debate about whether the high rates of mental health problems in trans-identifying youths are primarily a result of societal discrimination against trans individuals.
Alternatively, as many skeptics argue, some young people may identify as trans as a coping mechanism for mental health challenges unrelated to gender identity.
Erica Anderson, a transgender psychologist and former head of USPATH, part of the trans-medicine association WPATH, predicted that the new Finnish study would have a significant impact. She criticized the reportedly frequent question from gender clinics to hesitant parents: “Would you rather have a living son or dead daughter?”
Dr. Riittakerttu Kaltiala, the lead researcher of the new study published on Feb. 17, and a prominent adolescent psychiatrist at Finland’s Tampere University Hospital, condemned such statements as unethical and lacking factual basis.
Dr. Marci Bowers, a gender-affirmation surgeon and president of WPATH, called for a shift in focus towards medical interventions for young individuals. She emphasized that “suicide is and has always been a poor way of measuring the efficacy of gender-affirming care.”
The findings of Dr. Kaltiala’s research challenge the prevailing belief among a coalition of advocates for gender-transition treatments for young individuals that such interventions are life-saving. This coalition includes WPATH, major US medical organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the ACLU, and LGBTQ advocacy groups such as GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign.
Dr. Kaltiala, who previously supported gender-transition treatments for adolescents and established one of Finland’s first pediatric gender clinics in 2011, began to have reservations about the approach. This led her to doubt the efficacy of such treatments.
Subsequently, several research teams systematically reviewed available studies on gender-transition medicine for children. They all found the existing scientific evidence to be inadequate and uncertain.
For her latest study, Dr. Kaltiala’s team analyzed Finland’s national health records.
They studied the records of 2,083 individuals who visited the nation’s two gender clinics at age 22 or younger, starting in 1996 until 2019, with an average age of 18 and some as young as eight.
A comparison group of nearly 17,000 Finns, matched by age and birthplace, was also included in the analysis.
Each individual’s health data was tracked for an average of almost seven years until June 2022.
Thirty-eight percent of gender-distressed youths underwent cross-sex hormone treatment or gender-transition surgeries. Many of them began treatment before turning 18, Dr. Kaltiala noted.
Out of 55 deaths recorded, 20 were suicides, including 7 (0.3%) of gender-distressed youths and 0.1% of the comparison group.
The study’s conclusion that neither visiting a gender clinic nor undergoing gender-transition treatment significantly affected the suicide rate builds upon a previous study by Dr. Kaltiala in 2023. This earlier study showed that individuals who received gender-transition treatment did not reduce their visits to psychiatric specialists post-treatment, suggesting that the treatment did not enhance their mental well-being.
Dr. Kaltiala stressed the necessity for comprehensive mental health care for gender-distressed youths rather than solely relying on gender reassignment.
Paul Garcia-Ryan, president of Therapy First, which advocates for counseling as the primary approach for youth experiencing gender distress, highlighted guidelines cautioning against oversimplifying the link between suicide and specific factors. According to Mr. Garcia-Ryan, oversimplification may exacerbate suicidal thoughts in vulnerable young individuals.
It remains to be seen if proponents of access to gender-transition medicine for adolescents will take into consideration the findings of the Finnish study. GLAAD, for example, asserted that the “science is settled” regarding the benefits of such treatments, but the scientific understanding is ongoing and intricate.
Based on the groundbreaking data-driven research from Finland, it appears that it might be time to shift away from claims that medical interventions save lives in young individuals and focus more on enhancing mental health care.
