Strictly speaking, what the study shows is that progression of puberty has massively deleterious effects on the mental health of trans youth. Assessments happened after presentation, prior to receiving care, so the headline is not very accurate. (1/6) https://twitter.com/mimmymum/status/1344698796496846848

An odds ratio of 5.49 for depressive disorders in trans youth that hit Tanner 4-5 compared to Tanner 1-3 is scary. Other ORs for Tanner 4-5: 4.18 for anxiety disorders, 1.89 for a history of self-harm, 1.61 for suicidal ideation, 2.48 for treatment with psychoactive meds. (2/6)

Last three factors did not reach statistical significance, however, but first two did (p < .05). Older age at presentation also came with an increased OR for the aforementioned mental health issues, but Tanner stage (= progression of puberty) had a much bigger impact. (3/6)

This is also important, because it puts the lie to the (entirely made-up) claim that gender dysphoria goes away during puberty. Instead, the study adds support to our existing understanding that puberty aggravates gender dysphoria. (4/6)

Other important data: only about 1 in 10 trans youth presented in Tanner 1-3, the rest in Tanner 4-5, when puberty blockers can't do much anymore. We can only speculate why, but there are some obvious options. (5/6)

E.g. waiting times or difficult to access care; parents remaining in denial until they could not anymore; trans youth remaining closeted out of shame/fear/etc. until mounting dysphoria forced them out. (6/6)