As U.S. lawmakers debate health care issues for transgender youth, it has become difficult to determine the number of young people receiving gender-affirming drugs, leaving room for exaggerated and false claims.
Now, a medical journal has published the most reliable rating yet and the numbers are lower, which more clearly shows the medical procedures now being measured by the US Supreme Court.
Fewer than 1 in 1,000 US teens with commercial insurance have received sex-affirming drugs — contraceptives or hormones — in the most recent five-year period, according to a study released Monday.
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At least 26 states have passed laws that prohibit or prohibit gender-affirming medical care for transgender children, and most of those states are facing lawsuits. A Supreme Court decision in the Tennessee case is expected later this year. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to roll back protections for transgender people.
“We don't see any inappropriate use of this type of care,” said lead author Landon Hughes, a public health researcher at Harvard University. “And it certainly doesn't happen at the rate that people tend to think.”
Researchers analyzed a large database of insurance claims that included more than 5 million patients ages 8 to 17.
Only 926 youth with a gender-related diagnosis received contraceptives from 2018 to 2022. During that time, 1,927 received hormones. The findings, published in JAMA Pediatrics, suggest that less than 0.1% of all adolescents in custody received these drugs.
The researchers found that no patients under the age of 12 were prescribed hormones, which is an indication that doctors are cautious about when to start such treatment, Hughes said.
“I hope that our paper will clear heads on this issue and ensure that the public gets a real sense of the number of people who receive this care,” he said.
The database included insurance plans in all 50 states, but did not include youth covered by Medicaid, the state's health insurance program for low-income people.
The study did not look at surgery among transgender youth. Some researchers have found that such processes are very rare among teenagers.
Not all transgender youth continue to receive treatment, said Dr. Scott Leibowitz, lead author of youth standards of care for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the leading transgender health group.
Transgender youth “come to an understanding of their gender at different times and in different ways,” he said, noting that the best care should include experts in youth identity development who can work with families to help find what's right for each young person.
Leibowitz, who has worked at gender clinics in several US cities, said the study “adds to the growing evidence base about best practices in helping transgender youth.”
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The Associated Press Department of Health and Science is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group. AP is solely responsible for all content.
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