Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy for LGBTQ Youth Can Help Save Lives, Study Finds

The use of gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is significantly related to lower rates of depression, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary youth, according to a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health on Tuesday. The peer-reviewed study comes from researchers at The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ youth, and is the first large-scale study to examine GAHT’s impact on trans and nonbinary young people. The study examines data collected in a Trevor Project survey of over 34,000 LGBTQ youth between the ages of 13 and 24 across the U.S. from October to December 2020. Of the respondents, 12,000 identified as transgender or nonbinary. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Gender-affirming hormone therapy aims to help align someone’s sex characteristics with their gender identity, and can include taking hormones such as testosterone or estrogen. The study found that young people receiving GAHT reported a lower likelihood of experiencing depression and suicidal ideation compared to young people who wanted the treatment but were not able to access it. Notably, the study found that among young trans and nonbinary people under 18, receiving GAHT was associated with nearly 40% lower odds of having had a suicide attempt in the past year. Read more: HRC Files Lawsuit Challenging Florida’s Transgender Sports Ban—and Announces More To Come Studies have found transgender and ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized LGBTQ nationpod News Source Type: news