93% erau încă pe hormoni la ultimul contact cu clinica — dar 1 din 5 fusese pierdut din urmărire

Un studiu retrospectiv de cohortă privind întreruperea hormonilor de afirmare a genului la adolescenții transgender

Authors
Elizabeth R. Boskey, Kathryn L. Scheffey, Sarah Pilcher, Ellis P. Barerra, Kerry McGregor, Jeremi M. Carswell, Jessica D. Kant, Jessica Kremen
Journal
Journal of Adolescent Health
Year
2025

Summary

Doctors at a large US children's gender clinic reviewed records of 1,050 teens who had taken cross-sex hormones for at least six months. At their most recent contact, 93% were recorded as still taking hormones, 2% had paused and restarted, and 4% had stopped. Only five people (0.5%) stopped because they again identified with their birth sex. Others mostly stopped because they had reached the body changes they wanted, or had trouble getting or taking hormones. The authors conclude stopping is rare and should not be assumed to mean regret or detransition. But the figures only show short-term use of hormones in one clinic's records. About 1 in 5 patients had not been heard from for over a year, yet were counted as still on hormones. Average follow-up was under three years. And people who detransition often do not tell their original clinic.

Key findings

  • Dintre cei 1.224 de adolescenți care au început hormoni la Boston Children's Hospital între ianuarie 2007 și decembrie 2022, 1.050 au fost incluși pentru că aveau un diagnostic de suferință legată de gen și au luat hormoni cel puțin șase luni consecutiv.
  • La ultimul contact, 973 (93%) erau înregistrați ca fiind în continuare pe hormoni, 20 (2%) se opriseră mai mult de trei luni și reluaseră, iar 37 (4%) se opriseră fără să reia.
  • Cinci persoane (0,5%) s-au oprit pentru că s-au identificat din nou cu sexul lor la naștere; autorii descriu aceasta ca fiind sub 1%.
  • Dintre cei 37 care s-au oprit, 14 au spus că au atins schimbările corporale dorite; dificultatea de a obține sau de a continua hormonii au fost celelalte motive principale, potrivit autorilor și unui editorial publicat alături.
  • 210 dintre cei 973 numărați ca fiind în continuare pe hormoni nu mai dăduseră niciun semn de peste un an, fără înregistrarea trecerii la un alt medic (vârsta lor tipică la ultima vizită era de aproximativ 20 de ani).
  • Urmărirea a fost scurtă: editorialul raportează că rezultatele au fost măsurate în medie la aproximativ 2,7 ani după începerea hormonilor.
  • Autorii recomandă ca cercetările viitoare să întrebe de ce se opresc oamenii, în loc să presupună detranziție sau regret.

Abstract

Purpose: To understand the rate of, and reasons for, discontinuation of gender-affirming hormones (GAH) in transgender adolescents.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of individuals starting GAH between January 2007 and December 2022. Individuals were included if they were diagnosed with gender dysphoria, were prescribed GAH, and took GAH continuously for a minimum of 6 months. Of 1,224 individuals who started GAH, 1,050 met the eligibility criteria for this analysis. The primary study outcome was the status of GAH use at last communication. We also assessed gender identity at the time of GAH discontinuation and reasons for discontinuation among individuals who discontinued GAH for periods of 3 months or longer.

Results: Of 1,050 eligible individuals, 973 (93%) had been on GAH continuously at last contact, 20 (2%) had discontinued GAH for greater than 3 months then restarted hormones, and 37 (4%) had discontinued GAH without restarting hormones. Of those who discontinued hormones without restarting, 5 (0.5%) individuals did so because they reidentified with the gender associated with their sex assigned at birth. This represents less than 1 percent of the cohort.

Conclusions: In a large cohort of transgender adolescents seeking GAH, persistent discontinuation of hormones was rare and primarily reflected having accomplished gender expression goals or difficulties accessing or taking hormones - rather than individuals reaffirming a gender identity associated with their assigned sex at birth. It is important for future research on individuals who discontinue GAH to evaluate the reasons for discontinuation and not to make assumptions about detransition and/or regret.

Conclusion

In a large cohort of transgender adolescents seeking GAH, persistent discontinuation of hormones was rare and primarily reflected having accomplished gender expression goals or difficulties accessing or taking hormones - rather than individuals reaffirming a gender identity associated with their assigned sex at birth. It is important for future research on individuals who discontinue GAH to evaluate the reasons for discontinuation and not to make assumptions about detransition and/or regret.