Few US Teens Get Gender-Affirming Meds, Study Shows

You might think that a lot of U. S. teens are getting gender-affirming medications, right? Well, a recent study says that's not the case. In fact, less than 1 in 1, 000 adolescents with commercial insurance received these medications over a five-year period. This includes puberty blockers and hormones. The study, which looked at insurance claims, found that only around 900 teens got puberty blockers, and about 1, 900 got hormones during that time. That's less than 0. 1% of all teens in the database. Plus, no kids under 12 were prescribed hormones, showing that doctors are being cautious.

Now, you might be wondering why this is a big deal. Well, there are laws in at least 26 states that limit or ban these medical treatments for transgender minors. And some of these laws are being fought in court. Even the U. S. Supreme Court is expected to make a decision about this in a Tennessee case soon. So, why all the fuss if it's not happening that often? Some people think there's a lot of exaggerated claims out there about how common this is. But the study's lead author, Landon Hughes, says it's not happening at the rate people might think. Dr. Scott Leibowitz, who works with transgender health, agrees. He says not all transgender teens need or want these treatments. They all come to understand their gender differently, so it's important to have experts help figure out what's best for each teen.

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