Changes in Suicidality among Transgender Adolescents Following Hormone Therapy: An Extended Study

OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in suicidality following hormone therapy (HT) among transgender and gender-diverse adolescents and young adults.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective chart review was conducted at a multidisciplinary gender health clinic with 432 patients (mean follow-up = 679 days) completing the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions before and after treatment initiation. A repeated-measures ANCOVA assessed within-person changes in suicidality over time, adjusting for age at treatment and treatment duration.

RESULTS: Suicidality significantly declined from pretreatment to post-treatment (F[1, 426] = 34.63, P < .001, partial η 2 = 0.075). This effect was consistent across sex assigned at birth, age at start of therapy, and treatment duration.

CONCLUSIONS: HT was associated with clinically meaningful reductions in suicidality over time, extending prior findings with a larger sample and longer follow-up. These study findings provide clinical evidence supporting the mental health benefits of timely access to HT in this population.