Authors of study showing benefits of ‘gender-affirming’ treatment issue ‘correction,’ admit they’re wrong

Aug 5, 2020 by Jill

by Paul Smeaton, LifeSite:

The authors now say that gender-confused people who undergo ‘gender-reassignment’ surgery are more likely to be treated for anxiety disorders than those who don’t have such surgery.

The authors of a study who claimed “gender-reassignment” procedures brought mental health benefits issued a correction to their 2019 findings, admitting that those who have had “gender-reassignment” surgery “were more likely to be treated for anxiety disorders.”

The study, published October 4, 2019 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, purported to show that “gender-affirmation” treatment improves transgender mental health. The study utilized data from the Swedish Total Population Register, with information from more than 9.7 million Swedes, or about 95 percent of the country.

The claimed findings from the study led to headlines in mainstream media outlets proclaiming things like “Long-Term Mental Health Benefits of Gender-Affirming Surgery for Transgender Individuals” (American Psychiatric Association), “Sex-reassignment surgery yields long-term mental health benefits” (NBC News), and “Transgender surgery linked with better long-term mental health, study shows” (ABC News).

But University of Texas sociology professor Mark Regneus pointed out last year that the study “found no mental health benefits for hormonal interventions in this population,” and the claim that “gender-reassignment” surgery helped mental health hinged on the outcomes of only three people — from a total dataset of 9.7 million people.

The authors of the study have now conceded that “the results demonstrated no advantage of surgery in relation to subsequent mood or anxiety disorder-related health care.”

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