Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria Review of Evidence and Best Practices

Excerpt:  “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and Office of Population Affairs, released a comprehensive review, of the evidence and best practices for promoting the health of children and adolescents with gender dysphoria. This review, informed by an evidence-based medicine approach, reveals serious concerns about medical interventions, such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries, that attempt to transition children and adolescents away from their sex. The review highlights a growing body of evidence pointing to significant risks—including irreversible harms such as infertility—while finding very weak evidence of benefit. That weakness has been a consistent finding of systematic reviews of evidence around the world. The review also fills a gap in the medical literature and existing clinical practice reviews with regard to the ethical aspects of pediatric medical transition. HHS believes that medical ethics should be central in this debate.”