# The Impact of Early Medical Treatment in Transgender Youth

> **NIH NIH R01** · CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF LOS ANGELES · 2021 · $1,059,628

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Transgender children and adolescents are a poorly understood and a distinctly understudied population in the
United States. The limited available data suggest that youth with gender dysphoria are at increased risk for
negative mental and medical health outcomes including anxiety, depression, HIV acquisition, suicide, and
substance use compared to their peers. Therefore, medical intervention is aimed at alleviating gender dysphoria
and ameliorating potential negative outcomes. In 2011, the Institute of Medicine called for research to understand
and improve the lives of gender minority populations. In 2015, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles/USC, Boston
Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Benioff Children’s Hospitals/UCSF and Lurie Children’s Hospital of
Chicago/Northwestern University were awarded NIH grant R01HD082554 to develop and implement a
multidisciplinary, prospective, observational study: The Impact of Early Medical Treatment in Transgender Youth
(TYC). The original aims were to examine physiological and psychosocial effects of medical intervention for
transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth with gender dysphoria observed for 24-months. To date, TYC has
successfully recruited beyond its targeted baseline sample in two cohorts: (i) 95 youth initiating pubertal
suppression with gonadotropin releasing hormone analogs (GnRHa) along with one parent/guardian (n=95), as
well as (ii) 316 youth initiating gender-affirming hormone (GAH) therapy (testosterone or estrogen). Early results
have demonstrated a positive trend regarding mental health response to gender affirming interventions. The
primary objective of this observational, longitudinal, multicenter renewal study is to evaluate the longer-term
physiological and psychological impact of existing medical treatment protocols initiated in adolescence on youth
with gender dysphoria for up to an additional 4 years. A second objective is to enhance the diversity and size of
existing cohorts by enrolling additional youth of color (YOC) into both cohorts (n=89) and enroll additional
assigned males at birth specifically into the GAH cohort (n=110). The final objective is to add measurements of
psychosocial variables required to answer new questions posed in this renewal application. A key feature of the
renewal period is that most individuals in the original GnRHa cohort will be starting GAH treatment. By examining
outcomes of TGD youth who initiated GAH treatment with and without histories of puberty suppression, TYC will
be well positioned to examine key questions about the sequencing of puberty suppression and GAH treatment
on health outcomes. Continuing our current research is imperative to expand the scant evidence-base currently
guiding the clinical care of TGD youth and thus, is of considerable public health significance. Results from this
study have the potential to significantly impact services provided to TGD youth in the U.S. by making available
rigorous scie...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10122677
- **Project number:** 2R01HD082554-06A1
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Yee-Ming Chan
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,059,628
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2015-08-01 → 2026-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10122677

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10122677, The Impact of Early Medical Treatment in Transgender Youth (2R01HD082554-06A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10122677. Licensed CC0.

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