News Brief
US Trans Advocate Doctor Deliberately Withheld $10 Million Taxpayer-Funded Puberty Blocker Study After No Mental Health Gains Found
Representative Image
A prominent American doctor and transgender rights advocate has revealed that she deliberately withheld the publication of a $10 million US taxpayer-funded study over alleged concern over 'weaponisation' of the research.
The study examined the effects of puberty blockers on American children but did not find evidence that these treatments improved patients' mental health.
In an interview with The New York Times, Dr Johanna Olson-Kennedy voiced fears that the study could be misused by opponents of transgender healthcare for children.
She argued that the findings could potentially be cited in legal battles to challenge the use of puberty blockers.
Criticism emerged, even from one of the study's own researchers, over Olson-Kennedy's decision to withhold the findings.
They said that suppressing this data violates research ethics and denies the public access to crucial scientific information in an area where public opinion remains highly divided in the United States.
The US National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research followed 95 children, with an average age of 11, who were administered puberty blockers starting in 2015.
These drugs are intended to pause puberty-related physical developments like breast growth or voice deepening.
Olson-Kennedy explained this outcome by saying the participants were already in good mental health at the start of the treatment and remained so at its conclusion.
Contradicting this assessment, The New York Times reported that earlier data from the study indicated that about 25 per cent of the children were either depressed or suicidal before starting the treatment.
Moreover, the results did not match the findings of a 2011 Dutch study frequently cited by supporters of puberty blockers.
The Dutch research concluded that children receiving the treatment experienced better mental health and fewer behavioural problems.
When questioned about the nine-year delay in publishing the study, Dr. Olson-Kennedy said, “I do not want our work to be weaponized,” adding that the study must be “exactly on point, clear and concise,” which takes time.
Boston College clinical psychologist Amy Tishelman, one of the study’s original researchers, expressed concern about the decision to hold back the study’s findings, emphasising the need for transparency in scientific research.
In her 2020 progress report to the NIH, Dr Olson-Kennedy anticipated that the study would show “decreased symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, and suicidality,” along with an “improved sense of body esteem and quality of life.”
