Important new study from Michael Biggs. A comparison of results of the 2011 Dutch study with the Tavistock's Early Intervention puberty blockers trial: in the English study girls show more internalising problems and worsening body image dissatisfaction.
rdcu.be/b5hsT
rdcu.be/b5hsT
"Two salient findings emerge. Firstly, the improvement in psychological functioning seen in the Dutch sample was not repeated among the English. Following treatment, the English females experienced more internalizing problems"
"Secondly, both samples show similar divergence in bodily image, with dissatisfaction easing among males but worsening among females."
"For males, physical dissatisfaction diminished. For the English males, the improvement in BIS for primary sex characteristics was statistically significant (p = .05). For females, by contrast, their physical dissatisfaction was exacerbated."
"In the English sample, the decline in BIS for neutral and secondary sex characteristics was statistically significant (p = .01 and .03, respectively). This deterioration was also statistically significant in the Dutch sample"
"More than two decades after the Dutch model was introduced, the strongest evidence for treating gender dysphoria with GnRHa comes from observations of between 41 and 57 subjects—lacking any control group"
"The comparison with the Early Intervention Study reiterates a neglected aspect of the original Dutch findings: female adolescents treated with GnRHa became more dissatisfied with their bodies. This fact might help to explain why this treatment almost invariably leads to further
physical interventions." "It is premature to attempt explanation before further research confirms these differences in larger samples. The differences do, however, question the widespread assumption that outcomes from the Netherlands can be generalized to other countries."
"In England, for example, the National Health Service’s (2015) specification for gender dysphoria recommends suppressing puberty with GnRHa, citing Dutch research."
"It is puzzling that so many countries have adopted the Dutch model without publishing comparable prospective results; one wonders whether clinics whose findings are negative or contradictory are reluctant to publish."
For results to be meaningful they must be replicated. In the case of puberty blockers, we are basing life-changing & irreversible medical intervention on young children on one study with a small number of subjects, with no control group and with some negative outcomes for girls.
