Reviewing the evidence for puberty blockers in children

5 years on

Five years ago, TTE reviewed Gender-affirming hormones in children and adolescents.

To find the evidence, we searched PubMed Clinical Queries for systematic reviews (the original search strategy is available here).

Our conclusions stated: 

“There are significant problems with how the evidence for Gender-affirming cross-sex hormones has been collected and analysed that prevent definitive conclusions from being drawn.” 

“The development of these interventions should, therefore, occur in the context of research, and treatments for under 18 gender dysphoric children and adolescents remain largely experimental. There are a large number of unanswered questions that include the age at the start, reversibility, adverse events, long-term effects on mental health, quality of life, bone mineral density, osteoporosis in later life and cognition. We wonder whether off-label use is appropriate and justified for drugs such as spironolactone, which can cause substantial harm and even death. We are also i…