Does Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy Improve Mental Well-Being in Transgender and Nonbinary Adolescents?

Gender-minority adolescents (i.e., those whose gender identity does not match their assigned sex at birth) experience a substantial mental health burden. Appearance incongruence — where an individual's external appearance does not match their gender identity — can be particularly distressing during the puberty transition. Gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) for adolescents improves appearance congruence, but we know little about whether this translates into long-term improvements in mental well-being.

Researchers recruited 315 transgender and nonbinary adolescents (age range, 12–20 years; mean age, 16) who were beginning GAHT at one of four U.S. pediatric gender clinics. At study entry, 83% of participants were at Tanner stage 5 of puber…