Gender-affirming surgery could help reduce mental health problems among trans people

Transgender individuals are more likely to experience mental health problems than those who are cisgender. And new research suggests that gender-affirming surgery can provide long-term benefits to help with the dysphoria some experience. Data from a Swedish population registry revealed that, compared to the general population, those who had been diagnosed with gender incongruence were more than six times as likely to have been hospitalized following a suicide attempt, and more than three times as likely to have been prescribed antidepressants. At the same time, the chance of receiving mental health treatment went down by 8% for every year following gender-affirming surgery among those who underwent the procedure. Although this is only an association, it “supports policies that provide gender-affirming surgeries to transgender individuals who seek such treatments,” the authors write.