United States: Gender-affirming hormone therapy benefits transgender patients in two ways by transforming their physical state alongside improving their emotional well-being according to scientific evidence.
The March 17 JAMA Network Open publication showed that hormone treatment given to transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse clients reduced their moderate to severe depression risk by 15% compared to those without hormone prescriptions, as reported by HealthDay.
Transgender individuals face higher depression and suicidal thoughts than people who identify with their biological gender according to lead author Sari Reisner who teaches epidemiology at University of Michigan School of Public Health when speaking with CNN. “Trans people are literally dying. We need urgent support — currently more than ever— to obtain life-saving healthcare that will lead us toward our path of health.
Study Links Hormone Therapy to Lower Depression Rates
The study examined healthcare data from 3,592 patients located in two Boston and New York-based federally qualified community health centers.
Researchers assessed hormone therapy prescriptions for patients through analysis of scores obtained from the Patient Health Questionnaire to measure depression severity levels.
The participants who received hormone treatment experienced diminished levels of moderate to severe depression when they came for their check-ups.
“Providing gender hormones did not just provide physical benefits to transgender and gender diverse patients, but yet again, we demonstrate that they improve their mental health outcomes as well,” said Dr. Michelle Forcier, medical director for FOLX Health, a mental health and wellness telehealth platform for people in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Public health professionals consider transgender mental health disparities to be a significant health issue.
The National Institute of Mental Health shows major depression affects 8.3% of U.S. adults yet research conducted in 2023 indicated that 33% of the transgender population displays depression symptoms.
Mental health challenges increase when transgender people face systemic problems consisting of discrimination along with lack of access to healthcare and violations of their civil rights according to Dr. Melina Wald who provides clinical psychology services in Connecticut and New York state.
Rising Legal Restrictions on Transgender Healthcare
The number of laws targeting transgender health services has significantly increased. The number of bills introduced in 2018 was only two as recorded by Reisner but in 2023 there were 185 bills introduced.
“Recent Executive Orders banning ‘gender ideology’ and restricting the rights of trans people have devastating mental health consequences for trans communities,” she explained.
Widespread Benefits of Gender-Affirming Care
Experts noted the study’s varied sample — encompassing individuals of different ages, races and socioeconomic backgrounds — made the findings more valuable, as reported by HealthDay.
“That these patients benefited from care in these various primary care clinics in a diversity of communities suggests that effective gender affirmative hormone is no longer restricted to urban, academic, specialty clinics,” Forcier said.
Overall, studies support hormone therapy’s advantages and safety.
Decades of Research Support Gender-Affirming Care
“We have more than 25 years of consistent, persistent, insistent evidence that gender affirmative approaches to care for transgender persons offer a variety of medical and mental health benefits,” Forcier said. “There are no studies that suggest that withholding medically indicated, safe, effective care (offers) any benefit at all.”