According to NYT, doctor is holding back study on puberty blockers because he fears results could be 'used as a weapon'

LOS ANGELES (TNND) — According to the New York Times, a doctor in Los Angeles has not published a study on drugs that prevent puberty because of concerns about how politicians critical of transgender care might use the results.

Johanna Olson-Kennedy, the medical director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, reportedly told the newspaper she did not publish the research because it could serve as evidence to ban some treatments for transgender people .

“I don’t want our work to become a weapon,” the New York Times quoted her as saying. “It has to be precise, clear and concise. And that takes time.”

According to the newspaper, the study found that puberty blockers did not improve the mental health of the 95 children who were prescribed the drug. Olson-Kennedy reportedly said she was concerned the findings could be used in court to ban the drugs because they had no impact on transgender youth.

Olson-Kennedy explained that the drugs did not improve the children's mental health because they were already doing well, the New York Times noted.

“You have, on average, good mental health,” the doctor reportedly said. “They are not in worrying ranges either at the beginning or after two years.”

She told the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which funded the study, in a progress report that after two years the children would show improved “body esteem” and a better quality of life, the newspaper said. The project has reportedly received $9.7 million in government support.

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Olson-Kennedy added that patients also had fewer symptoms of suicidality, “self-harm,” depression, anxiety and trauma symptoms, the New York Times said.

According to the newspaper, the study's researchers first reported in 2020 that one in four children had considered suicide at some point. The same proportion reportedly reported experiencing symptoms of depression and significant anxiety.

Olson-Kennedy said she is still in the process of analyzing all of the study's data, the New York Times wrote. The doctor reportedly added that experience in the field is often underestimated in discussions about research, citing her observations on the benefits of the drugs.

The NIH studies are tiny compared to the number of people she has cared for, Olson-Kennedy said.

Children's Hospital Los Angeles did not respond to a request for comment from the National News Desk.

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