A researcher kept a study secret which revealed that puberty blockers do not improve the mental health of minors

A member of a taxpayer-funded research group publicly admitted that the results of a macro-study on medical hormone treatments was kept secret so as not to harm the trans cause.

In 2015, researchers began giving puberty blockers to 95 children, averaging 11 years of age. The hypothesis was that slowing down the biological changes of puberty would help improve their mental health of the minors by reducing the "distress" produced by gender dysphoria. At the end of the two-year period, however, the results were not as anticipated: the medical intervention did not improve the mental health of the patients.

So admitted Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, a vocal advocate of the blockers and a member of the team behind the study, in an interview with The New York Times. The data was kept secret, he detailed, because he did not want them to be "weaponized" politically. He explicitly acknowledged that he feared they would be used to argue that adolescents should not be treated with those drugs because "we shouldn’t use blockers because it doesn’t impact them [mentally]."

Not all researchers agreed with withholding the data: psychologist Amy Tishelman told the paper that she understood her colleague's fears but that it was "really important to get the science out there." Seven years later, the results have still not been released.

Money for all, decision by a few

The decision sparked a wave of criticism. Even more so because the project benefited from taxpayer dollars. According to the Times, it is part of a project that received $9.7 million in public grants.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A spokesman for the public organization told the newspaper that it is up to the researchers to decide when and how to publish their studies.

Lack of evidence

Despite acknowledging that her research indicates that the blockers do not produce improvements in the mental health of minors, Olson-Kennedy said her personal experience with patients indicates otherwise.

In recent months, a growing number of testimonials from researchers, physician associations, and regretful former transition patients (known as detransitioners) warning about the lack of, or manipulation of data on trans medical interventions.

In the United Kingdom, a study known as the Cass Report led the British government to ban such treatments. That one, presented by Dr. Hilary Cass, concluded that there was no "reliable evidence base" to indicate that supported transgender procedures.