Longitudinal Survey

You probably have seen news articles about a longitudinal survey of trans-children where they followed 22 trans-girls and 33 trans-boys from their teenage years to when they were in their early twenties. According to the abstract for the survey the results were,

After gender reassignment, in young adulthood, the GD was alleviated and psychological functioning had steadily improved. Well-being was similar to or better than same-age young adults from the general population. Improvements in psychological functioning were positively correlated with postsurgical subjective well-being.

But what the research did not cover was the sparkle in their eyes or their smile when they started on the hormone blockers. Over lunch yesterday I was listening to a pediatric doctor from Colorado talk about the changes he sees in his young patients as they are starting on hormone blockers or hormones.

The conclusion of the abstract said,

A clinical protocol of a multidisciplinary team with mental health professionals, physicians, and surgeons, including puberty suppression, followed by cross-sex hormones and gender reassignment surgery, provides gender dysphoric youth who seek gender reassignment from early puberty on, the opportunity to develop into well-functioning young adults.

If you have ever seen the change when a child or an adult begins hormones it is amazing, it is like a hundred pound weight was taking from their shoulders.

I will hope that the study is continuing and that they follow these 55 young adults throughout their lives, ten years is not long enough to see how their health is affected by the hormone blockers or a lifelong exposure to hormone. We also need to see if this is the proper intervention for gender dysphoria, we to look at how they are not only in their twenties but in their thirties, forties and beyond.