A major review by WA researchers has found medication used to suppress puberty can improve the mental health of young people who are trans or gender diverse.
In an article, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, researchers examined all the available peer-reviewed literature on the effects of puberty suppression on the mental and physical health of young people whose gender does not match their sex assigned at birth.
The team from The Kids Research Institute Australia, The University of Western Australia and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service found that puberty suppression in trans adolescents may be associated with psychological benefits and improved overall quality of life.
Supervising author from The Kids Research Institute Australia Dr Ashleigh Lin said the start of puberty can be a distressing and confusing time for trans young people and puberty suppressants, which are medications that block the sex hormones that cause its onset, can help alleviate this.
“Puberty suppression gives adolescents time to explore their gender, without the added stress of physically developing into a body that does not align with their gender identity,” Dr Lin said.
“Although it is reversible, meaning the child will go through a normal puberty of their sex assigned at birth if it is stopped, it is only given to trans young people after extensive psychological assessment from a team of experts.”
Dr Lin said that while the limited available evidence suggested that puberty suppression was also reasonably safe to a person physically, more research was needed.
“Trans young people and their families go through a personal process of weighing up the information as it applies to them, discussing these options with their health care practitioners, and making individual decisions about gender affirming treatment,” Dr Lin said.
“We hope that this review of the current evidence on puberty suppression is helpful to inform those decisions and will encourage more research in this area to take place in the future.
“There is still much we don’t know and more research is needed to understand the long-term effects of puberty suppression and how to best support trans young people during their development during adolescence.
“We also hope that trans young people will be inspired to continue to participate in research in the long term to improve our understanding of their health care and needs.”
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Media contact:
Jasmine Raisbeck, Senior Communications Officer, The Kids Research Institute Australia
08 9489 7635 or 0437 575 875 or jasmine.raisbeck@telethonkids.org.au
About The Kids Research Institute Australia:
The Kids Research Institute Australia is one of the largest, and most successful medical research institutes in Australia, comprising a dedicated and diverse team of more than 500 staff and students.
We've created a bold blueprint that brings together community, researchers, practitioners, policy makers and funders, who share our vision to improve the health and wellbeing of children through excellence in research.
The Institute is headed by leading paediatrician and infectious diseases expert Professor Jonathan Carapetis, with Founding Director Professor Fiona Stanley now Patron.
The Kids is independent and not-for-profit. The majority of funding comes from our success in winning national and international competitive research grants. We also receive significant philanthropic support from corporate Australia and the community.