Study showing puberty blockers do not improve children's mental health has not been published for fear of being 'weaponised'

The pediatrician behind a groundbreaking study showing puberty blockers failed to improve mental health in young people claimed her team had not yet published the results to avoid being criticized by critics of transgender medical interventions. would be used as a weapon.”

In a report published by The New York Times on Wednesday, Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, the medical director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Los Angeles Children's Hospital, said she did not publish the results of the two-year study for fear they could fuel political attacks.

“I don’t want our work to become a weapon. It has to get straight to the point, clear and concise. And that takes time,” Olson-Kennedy told the outlet.

An influential transgender doctor once warned that puberty blockers could cause permanent sexual dysfunction

A researcher behind a study showing that puberty blockers do not improve children's mental health has not officially published the findings, lest they be “weaponized” by critics of “gender-affirming care.” (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Olson-Kennedy's study, which began in 2015 and was funded by the National Institutes of Health, involved testing puberty blockers on 95 children around the age of 11 from across the country and examining whether the treatments improved their mental health.

The doctor told The Times that two years into their studies, her team had found no evidence that the puberty blockers had improved the mental health of their young subjects. Olson-Kennedy stated she believes this result may be because the children were mentally healthy at the start of the trial.

“They're in really good shape when they come in, and they're in really good shape after two years,” she said. However, the New York Times noted that the assessment “seemed to contradict an earlier description of the group in which Dr. Olson-Kennedy and her colleagues found that a quarter of the adolescents were depressed or suicidal before treatment.”

The outlet confronted Dr. Olson-Kennedy questioned why the results were never published nearly a decade after the trials began. “She said the findings could fuel the kind of political attacks that have led to bans on youth sex treatment in more than 20 states, one of which will soon be considered by the Supreme Court,” it said.

The pediatrician said she will release the data at some point and mentioned that the delay was also partly due to the NIH cutting funding for her study. She said the decision was also made for political reasons.

The institute denied the political allegations to The New York Times and did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on why it cut funding for Olson-Kennedy's project.

The doctor, who the media described as “one of the country's most vocal advocates for gender treatment of adolescents” and who “served as an expert witness in many legal challenges to the state's bans,” added that she was concerned that the results of her Study could be used by opponents of the treatment who argue that “we shouldn't use blockers because they have no effect on youth.”

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LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 20: Transgender activists take part in a protest against the ban on hormone blockers on April 20, 2024 in London, England. ((Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images))

However, not everyone involved in Olson-Kennedy's trials agrees. Boston College clinical and research psychologist Amy Tishelman, who was one of the study's original researchers, told the newspaper: “I understand the fears that the study could be used as a weapon, but it's really important to get the science out there bring.”

Olson-Kennedy's insistence not to release the data comes as researchers from other countries have published findings that discount the ability of puberty blockers to improve the mental health of transitioning youth.

The United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) published findings from a 2020 independent review of gender-responsive care services for children and young people, led by Dr. Hilary Cass, former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Cass concluded in his review that there was “no good evidence” for the medical push to change the sexes of children, noting that it had been “built on shaky foundations.”

The report also found that puberty blockers did not help teens with gender dysphoria feel better about their bodies and noted that evidence on the psychological effects of the treatments was insufficient.

Dr. Cass criticized Dr. Olson-Kennedy's decision to delay publication of her findings, telling the New York Times: “It's really important that we publish the results so that we understand whether they are helpful or not and for whom.”

Cass, whose study led the National Health Service to stop doctors in England from prescribing puberty blockers to children because of a lack of evidence of their clinical effectiveness, added that she believed Olson-Kennedy's delay had left the public with the impression that puberty blockers improve mental health in adolescents.

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Neither Cass nor Olson-Kennedy responded to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Taylor Penley of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.