Doctor refused to publish study on trans kids that showed puberty blockers didn’t help mental health

A prominent doctor and trans rights advocate has admitted that she deliberately withheld publication of a $10 million taxpayer-funded study on the effect of puberty blockers on American children – after finding no evidence that they improve children’s mental health. patients.

Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy told the New York Times that she believes the study would be “weaponized” by critics of transgender care for children, and that the research could one day be used in court to argue “we shouldn’t use blockers.” ”

Critics — including one of Olson-Kennedy’s fellow researchers on the study — said the decision goes against research standards and deprives the public of “really important” science in a field where Americans remain firmly divided.

For the study funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers chose 95 children — with an average age of 11 — and gave them puberty-blocking medications starting in 2015. The treatments are intended to delay the onset of bodily changes, such as the development of breasts or the deepening of the voice.

After following the young people for two years, the treatments did not improve their mental health status, which Olson-Kennedy attributed to the fact that the children were “in very good shape” both when they began and completed the two-year treatment.

However, the Times points out that its optimistic assessment contradicts previous data recorded by researchers, who found that about a quarter of study participants “were depressed or suicidal” before receiving treatment.

The result also does not support the conclusions of a 2011 Dutch study, which is the main scientific investigation cited by advocates of giving puberty blockers to children. This study of 70 children found that children treated with puberty blockers reported better mental health and fewer behavioral and emotional problems.

Olson-Kennedy, the outlet points out, is one of the nation’s leading advocates for providing gender-affirming care to teens, and regularly provides expert testimony in legal challenges to state bans on such procedures, which have taken root in more than 20 states.

When asked by the Times why the results had not been made public after nine years, she said: “I don’t want our work to be weaponized,” adding: “It has to be exactly precise, clear and concise. And that takes time.”

She then categorically admitted that she feared that the study’s lack of mental health improvements could one day be used in court to argue that “we shouldn’t be using blockers.”

A Washington Post-KFF Trans in America poll found that 68% of U.S. adults oppose providing puberty blockers to youth ages 10 to 14 who identify as trans, and 58% oppose hormone treatments. for those aged between 15 and 17.

Clinical psychologist and Boston College researcher Amy Tishelman, who was one of the study’s original researchers, pointed out the obvious contradiction in withholding scientific evidence, claiming it does not match the expected conclusion.

“I understand the fear of this being weaponized, but it is very important to get the science out there,” she told the channel.

“No change is not necessarily a negative conclusion – there could be a preventative aspect to this,” she said hopefully.

“We simply don’t know without further investigation.”

In a 2020 progress report submitted to the NIH, Olson-Kennedy hypothesized that study participants would experience “decreased symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma symptoms, self-harm, and suicidality, and increased body esteem and quality of life.” life over time.”

Olson-Kennedy appeared to try to muddy the waters in her Times interview by explaining how her hypothesis did not come to fruition, claiming that the participants had “good mental health, on average.”

She made this claim “several times,” despite previously saying that 25% of young patients in the study suffered from various symptoms of mental illness before starting treatments.

When pressed by the news outlet for an explanation for the seemingly contradictory findings, Olson-Kennedy attributed them to “data averages,” of which she said she was “still analyzing the full data set.”

In April, England’s National Health Service (NHS) banned puberty blockers for children, following a four-year review led by independent researcher Dr. Hilary Cass, who wrote in her report: “for most young people, a path doctor will not be the best way.” to manage their gender-related distress.”

Last year, Dr. Riittakerttu Kaltiala, a leading Finnish specialist in pediatric gender medicine, said in a newspaper interview that “four out of five” gender-questioning children will eventually grow out of it and accept their bodies even without intervention. medical.