The Dutch protocol only evaluated the young people a year or two after the last surgery. Regret and detransition studies have found median or average times to regret to be much longer (4-5-9 or 10 years, Vandenbussche, 2021, Littman, 2021, Dhejne, 2014, Wiepjes, 2018).
(The last two quote a regret rate, however Dhejne 2014 had a very different cohort and process older, and Wiepjes 2018 loses 36% to follow up.)
So one doesn't know how many have regretted with the Dutch protocol, either.
Given the different presentation (at or after puberty, but still developmentally immature) and the explosion in cases for both natal sexes, it's really good that countries are taking a closer look, it can't happen soon enough in the rest of the world!
Thanks for your comment. I remember someone produced a table showing the percentage of former patients lost to follow-up. In one major Dutch study it was in the order of 30pc. Also some studies reporting low regret had a very narrow definition of what constituted regret.
[Even the Dutch Protocol study (de Vries et al, 2014) lost people, they reported on 55, one who had died due to surgical complications was omitted, as were a few others didn't return surveys....]
And yes about narrow definitions of regret--one can't even compare the studies to each other a lot of the time.
The phrase "unwanted puberty" made me think. Previously there wasn't an alternative to puberty for those disturbed by it (except maybe severe anorexia). Is it thought this is a factor in the epidemic of gender change?
Thank you so much for this article!
The Dutch protocol only evaluated the young people a year or two after the last surgery. Regret and detransition studies have found median or average times to regret to be much longer (4-5-9 or 10 years, Vandenbussche, 2021, Littman, 2021, Dhejne, 2014, Wiepjes, 2018).
(The last two quote a regret rate, however Dhejne 2014 had a very different cohort and process older, and Wiepjes 2018 loses 36% to follow up.)
So one doesn't know how many have regretted with the Dutch protocol, either.
Given the different presentation (at or after puberty, but still developmentally immature) and the explosion in cases for both natal sexes, it's really good that countries are taking a closer look, it can't happen soon enough in the rest of the world!
Thanks for your comment. I remember someone produced a table showing the percentage of former patients lost to follow-up. In one major Dutch study it was in the order of 30pc. Also some studies reporting low regret had a very narrow definition of what constituted regret.
Hi, yes, maybe some of these are what you saw?
D'Angelo 2018 (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1039856218775216 ) Box 3
There's also a chart for some other papers here: https://www.dovepress.com/cr_data/article_fulltext/s95000/95310/img/NDT-95310-T03.png , full article is here: https://www.dovepress.com/front_end/cr_data/article_fulltext/s95000/95310/
Also there's a table by Hacsi Horvath, in "The Theatre of the Body: A detransitioned epidemiologist examines suicidality, affirmation, and transgender identity" of loss to follow up. https://4thwavenow.com/2018/12/19/the-theatre-of-the-body-a-detransitioned-epidemiologist-examines-suicidality-affirmation-and-transgender-identity/
I'm not sure how much any of these overlap.
Wiepjes et al 2018 was a huge Dutch study, so perhaps the one you are referring to, that is the 36% above--
The Amsterdam Cohort of Gender Dysphoria Study (1972-2015): Trends in Prevalence, Treatment, and Regrets https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29463477/ ?
[Even the Dutch Protocol study (de Vries et al, 2014) lost people, they reported on 55, one who had died due to surgical complications was omitted, as were a few others didn't return surveys....]
And yes about narrow definitions of regret--one can't even compare the studies to each other a lot of the time.
Thank you again!
Yes, it was Wiepjes I had in mind. Handy to have these links in one place, thanks. B
The phrase "unwanted puberty" made me think. Previously there wasn't an alternative to puberty for those disturbed by it (except maybe severe anorexia). Is it thought this is a factor in the epidemic of gender change?
It's not unusual to see activists/gender clinicians refer to the "irreversible harm of the wrong puberty". But this from Columbia U takes the rhetoric to the next level --- https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/stopping-puberty-apocalypse
That's astounding. (I'd forgotten another alternative, as in castrati, but that was only for boys and normally they didn't volunteer.)