Less than 1 in 1,000 adolescents with commercial insurance received gender-affirming medication over a five-year period, according to a study released Monday.
The researchers in the study surveyed more than 5 million patients, ages 8 to 17, from 2018 to 2022.
Of those who received a gender-related diagnosis, 926 received puberty blockers during that time and 1,927 received hormones.
The study comes as U.S. lawmakers debate the issue of gender-affirming care for youth, with at least 26 states already adopting laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors, according to The Associated Press. The Supreme Court is also weighing the issue, with a decision in a Tennessee case expected later this year.
The researchers noted that gender-affirming care is linked to “improved psychological functioning” for youth who identify as transgender and gender diverse in the U.S.
But, the researchers wrote in the paper published in JAMA Pediatrics, “despite its safety and effectiveness,” gender-affirming care remains polarizing.
“Advocates of these restrictive laws argue that rates of gender-affirming care are too high,” they wrote.
Researchers said they hope the new study assuages concerns about the prevalence of gender-affirming medical interventions.
“We are not seeing inappropriate use of this sort of care,” said the paper’s lead author, Landon Hughes, the AP reported. “And it’s certainly not happening at the rate at which people often think it is.”
“I hope that our paper cools heads on this issue and ensures that the public is getting a true sense of the number of people who are accessing this care,” Hughes added, as reported by the AP.
