Study Shows Hormone Therapy Lowers Mental Health Risks in Trans Youth

Many transgender and nonbinary people will personally attest to the mental health benefits after starting hormone replacement therapy, and now, a large new study among thousands of transgender and nonbinary youth has found HRT significantly lowered their risk for depression and suicide.

The study examined data from a 2020 LGBTQ survey including more than 11,000 trans participants between ages 13 and 24, and 9,000 answered questioned about gender-affirming hormone therapy. Half of the trans participants indicated they were not getting gender-affirming therapy but wanted to; 36 percent said they weren’t interested, and 14 percent were currently on HRT.

Dr. Amy E. Green, a clinical psychology professor at the University of California, San Diego and vice president of research for the Trevor Project, led the study.

The connection between those on HRT and depression or suicidal ideation was clear: Getting HRT was associated with 40 percent less chance of reporting attempted suicide in the previous year, in comparison to those who reported they wanted to be on HRT but had yet to start. The study also showed young people with more supportive parents were more likely to get HRT, with around 80 percent of youth who were on hormone therapy reporting at least one supportive parents.

Trans youth of color were also less likely to be able to get hormone therapy compared to white trans youth.

“Together, these findings indicate that youth receipt of gender-affirming care is based not only on their presenting concerns but also on their parent’s level of support, geography, and their social identities, which related to barriers to care among the broader population of youth as well,” the authors say.

They continue, stating that medical and mental health organization are increasingly expressing support for gender-affirming care as evidence for it grows.

“Given the well-documented risks of negative mental health and suicide among transgender and nonbinary youth, it is necessary that those serving these youth provide care that is patient-centered, affirming, and evidence-based.”

In a year that saw an unprecedented amount of anti-trans legislation, hopefully studies like this can continue pushing for better access to gender-affirming care in trans youth.