A long-awaited, taxpayer-funded study of transgender-identifying youth found that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones may carry significant risks to bone density, cardiovascular health, and fertility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The National Institutes of Health provided up to $10 million for the nine-year study, conducted through Children\u2019s Hospital Los Angeles and led by Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, a prominent provider of so-called \u201cgender-affirming care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The study included participants as young as 8. Researchers found that children entering the puberty-blocker group already had lower bone-mineral density than the general population, raising concerns about the potential long-term effects of suppressing normal puberty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report also identified cardiovascular risk factors among young people receiving cross-sex hormones. Those taking testosterone experienced decreases in HDL, commonly known as \u201cgood\u201d cholesterol, and increases in LDL, or \u201cbad\u201d cholesterol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among biological females receiving testosterone, 6.5% developed hematocrit levels above 50%, meaning an abnormally high concentration of red blood cells\u2014a condition that can increase the risk of vascular complications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Researchers also acknowledged unresolved questions surrounding fertility and reproductive health, establishing a tissue archive to study the long-term effects of these treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The findings come after controversy surrounding the study\u2019s delayed publication. The New York Times reported in 2024 that Olson-Kennedy had withheld some findings because she feared they could be \u201cweaponized\u201d in political debates over transgender medical treatments for minors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The newly released report also follows findings showing that puberty blockers produced no clinically significant improvement in overall mental health over two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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A long-awaited, taxpayer-funded study of transgender-identifying youth found that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones may carry significant risks to bone density, cardiovascular health, and fertility. The National Institutes of Health provided up to $10 million for the nine-year study, conducted through Children\u2019s Hospital Los Angeles and led by Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, a prominent provider of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":4966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[804,805,514],"tags":[4861,7186,456],"class_list":["post-278178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-foreground","category-science","tag-gender-ideology","tag-lgbt-ideology","tag-transgenderism"],"yoast_head":"\n