"Among adolescents who underwent medical gender reassignment, psychiatric morbidity increased markedly during follow-up," found the study, "Psychiatric Morbidity Among Adolescents and Young Adults Who Contacted Specialised Gender Identity Services in Finland in 1996–2019," rising from 9.8% to 60.7% among males seeking to become more feminine, and rising from 21.6% to 54.5% females seeking to become more masculine male. (Psychiatric morbidity refers to a patient's other mental health issues, such as depression, suicidal ideation, eating disorders, and more.)

The study observed the results over time for "a total of 2,083 individuals under the age of 23, who received "specialized gender identity services" (GIS) at Finnish hospitals beginning 1996 to 2019. Due to Finland's nationalized, centralized health care system, this represents a total, consistently-measured population of transgender-identifying youth in the nation. Researchers compared the study population to a control group eight times as large.

The extensive study, which first collected data in 2022, thus avoided the pitfalls from which "the bulk of the literature on adolescent GD [gender dysphoria] suffers," it explained. There are commonly "a lack of control groups, making it unfeasible to estimate truly excessive morbidity, and small sample sizes that leave room for chance variation." Furthermore, "Many of the studies in this field are cross-sectional and unsuitable for assessing developments. The few longitudinal studies have been of low quality and provided inconsistent results."

Larger studies provide smaller statistical errors, providing more confidence in the results. Control groups verify that the results for the study population are actually distinct. "Longitudinal" studies, which measure data across time, shed more light on long-term effects than "cross-sectional" studies, which measure a single moment in time.

The data revealed two noteworthy features. First, adolescents referred to specialist transgender services "showed significantly higher psychiatric morbidity than controls," with 45.7% having mental health issues before referral, compared to 15.0% among the control population. When next measured, two years or more after referral, 61.7% of the gender dysphoric population had mental health issues, compared to only 14.6% of the control population. (Image: Unsplash-Annie Spratt)

Second, as these data show, the proportion of adolescents with mental health issues also increased in absolute terms (by 35%) after referral to specialist transgender services.

However, not every adolescent referred to Finnish transgender services went through with medical gender reassignment. The researchers found that, among those who received no hormonal or surgical interventions, the rates of mental health issues increased by a much smaller amount.

So, among gender dysphoric males who received no medical interventions, there were 169 with psychiatric morbidity before referral and 190 two years or more after referral (a 12% increase). Among gender dysphoric females who received no medical interventions, there were 630 with psychiatric morbidity before, and 651 after (a 3% increase). (It is unclear from the report, but these numbers may not even be statistically significant.)

However, among males who did receive medical gender reassignment treatments, the number with psychiatric morbidity increased from 16 to 99 (a 518% increase). Among females who received medical gender reassignment treatments, the number with psychiatric morbidity increased from 137 before to 345 after, a 151% increase. (The numerical male-female difference in both groups is due in part to the fact that approximately 80% of the gender dysphoric population was female—that is, "seeking change ... towards male"—and to the fact that females had a higher baseline rate of mental health issues.)

Sadly, many in this mentally unhealthy population of gender dysphoric youth (extended to include 22-year-olds because, the authors said, "the identity development in young individuals extends beyond the age of legal maturity") required long-term support to address the mental health issues not addressed by their medical interventions. Among the study population, fully 27.6% had more than 100 "lifetime ... contacts to specialist level psychiatric treatment," and another 22.0% had more than 25 contacts (23.4% had none—likely those with no reported mental health issues). By contrast, 74.0% of the control group had no specialist psychiatric contacts, and only 10.7% had more than 25.

According to the Finnish data, then, not every young person who identifies as transgender will suffer from other mental health issues, but a significant proportion will—far higher than in the population at large. And, contrary to the claims often made in policy debates, the data show that medical transgender interventions may cause more mental health issues, instead of alleviating them.

"The considerable severe psychiatric morbidity prior to contacting the GIS, and its increase over time, suggest that for some of these adolescents, GD may be secondary to other mental health challenges," the authors, Sami-Matti Ruuska, Katinka Tuisku, Timo Holttinen, Riittakerttu Kaltiala, concluded. "This underscores the need to thoroughly assess and appropriately treat mental disorders among those seeking GR before and after undergoing irreversible medical treatments. Psychiatric needs must be adequately met.

"This study's results are no surprise as they are consistent with other recent similar work," wrote Wesley Smith, chair and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center on Human Exceptionalism. "What should be a surprise—but, alas, isn't—is much (not all) of the American medical establishment's refusal to 'follow the science' and choosing still to embrace gender ideology. Ditto, progressive lawmakers and officials who continue to propose and enforce laws essentially mandating so-called gender-affirming care." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.

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