Finnish Study Finds Gender-Change Medical Interventions Do Not Improve Mental Health
A Finnish study reveals that transgender medical interventions in youth correlate with increased mental health issues, urging thorough psychological assessment before treatment begins.
A Finnish study published in European Conservative found that adolescents and young adults who underwent medical interventions for gender transition experienced worse mental health outcomes compared to those who did not, according to Finnish research published in the journal Acta Paediatrica.
The researchers examined a total of 2,083 individuals who sought medical services due to gender dysphoria from 1996 to 2019. Even before their referral, psychiatric issues in this group reached 45.7%, while the corresponding rate in the general population control was only 15%. In the years that followed, this rate increased further to 61.7%.
At the same time, psychiatric needs did not decrease after medical gender transition interventions. On the contrary, the trend was more pronounced among those referred after 2010, where higher levels of mental health problems were recorded both before and after entering the treatment system.
Among adolescents who underwent feminizing treatments, psychiatric issues soared from 9.8% to 60.7%. For those who received masculinizing therapies, the increase was from 21.6% to 54.5%. Overall, these individuals exhibited psychiatric problems three times more frequently than same-age females and five times more than same-age males.
The study highlights that severe psychiatric morbidity is common among children and adolescents undergoing such treatments, and that this situation appears to be worsening in recent years. The authors emphasize that many of these young people were already facing serious mental health issues prior to any intervention.
According to the conclusions, hormonal therapies may have complex psychological effects. Some patients became more anxious rather than less. The researchers suggest that:
The outcomes of medical gender transition and the patient’s expectations should be addressed before starting treatment.
The findings align with previous assessments, such as those included in the report by British Dr. Hillary Cass in 2024, which also highlighted the need for careful evaluation of underlying mental health conditions.
