US Trans Doctor Advocate Deliberately Withheld $10 Million Taxpayer-Funded Puberty Blocking Study After No Mental Health Gains Were Found

A prominent American doctor and transgender rights advocate has revealed that she deliberately withheld publication of a $10 million US taxpayer-funded study due to alleged concerns about the “weaponization” of the research.

The study examined the effects of puberty blockers on American children, but found no evidence that these treatments improved patients’ mental health.

In an interview with The New York Times, Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy expressed fears that the study could be misused by opponents of transgender health care for children.

She argued that the findings could potentially be cited in legal battles to challenge the use of puberty blockers.

Criticism has emerged, even from one of the study’s own researchers, over Olson-Kennedy’s decision to withhold the findings.

They stated that the suppression of this data violates research ethics and denies the public access to crucial scientific information in an area where public opinion remains highly divided in the United States.

The research funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) followed 95 children, with an average age of 11, who received puberty blockers starting in 2015.

These medications aim to halt physical development related to puberty, such as breast growth or deepening of the voice.

By following the children for two years, researchers noticed that puberty blockers had no positive effect on their mental health.

Olson-Kennedy explained this result by saying that the participants were already in good mental health at the beginning of the treatment and remained so until its completion.

Contrary to this assessment, The New York Times reported that previous study data indicated that about 25% of children were depressed or suicidal before starting treatment.

Furthermore, the results did not match the conclusions of a 2011 Dutch study often cited by advocates of puberty blockers.

Dutch research concluded that children who received the treatment had better mental health and fewer behavioral problems.

When asked about the nine-year delay in publishing the study, Dr. Olson-Kennedy said, “I don’t want our work to be weaponized,” adding that the study must be “exactly objective, clear and concise,” which it takes time.

Boston College clinical psychologist Amy Tishelman, one of the study’s original researchers, expressed concern about the decision to withhold the study’s findings, emphasizing the need for transparency in scientific research.

In her 2020 progress report to the NIH, Dr. Olson-Kennedy anticipated that the study would show “decreased symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, and suicidality,” along with an “improved sense of body esteem and quality of life.” .

Also read: Pakistan’s hopes of BRICS membership were dashed as India pushed for a “consensus” on the bloc’s expansion