a at England’s only NHS specialist clinic for children.
By the time the children had finished their stint on puberty blockers at the age of 16, researchers found “reduced growth” in height and bone strength.
“In both cases (height and bone strength) there was some growth but less than would be expected during those years without hormonal suppression,” according to the paper, which has been published nine years after the study began.
The authors said that more research was needed to determine whether the impairment was permanent.
Until recently puberty blockers were billed as a “fully reversible” treatment that paused the physical transformation of puberty, but the NHS has since updated its guidance to say the long-term impact on brains and bones is unknown….
A commonly stated reason for suppressing puberty is to give adolescents “thinking time”. However, in the paper, published in the journal Plos One, the researchers found that puberty blockers brought no improvement in psychological function, quality of life or gender dysphoria — a result they attribute to either the drugs bringing “no measurable benefit nor harm” or the drugs preventing patients from feeling worse.
All but one of the participants went on to the next, irreversible step towards transition, cross-sex hormones.
Leave a Reply