TUESDAY, March 18, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Gender-affirming hormone therapy may not only help transgender and nonbinary individuals physically -- it could also improve their mental health, new research suggests.

A study published March 17 in JAMA Network Open found that transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse people who were prescribed hormone therapy had a 15% lower risk of moderate to severe depression over four years compared to those who did not receive hormones.

“Trans people experience mental health disparities with higher rates of depression and suicidality than cisgender (non-transgender) people,” lead study author Sari Reisner, associate professor of epidemiology at University of Michigan School of Public Health, told CNN. “Trans people are literally dying. There is an urgent need -- now more than ever -- to care for us, support us, and ensure we have the life-saving care that we deserve and need to thrive.”

The researchers analyzed data from 3,592 patients at two federally qualified community health centers in Boston and New York.

They compared patients' hormone therapy prescriptions with their scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire, which measures depression levels. 

Those who received hormone therapy had significantly lower risks of moderate to severe depression during their follow-ups.

“Providing gender hormones did not just provide physical benefits to transgender and gender diverse patients, but yet again, we demonstrate that they improve their mental health outcomes as well,” said Dr. Michelle Forcier, medical director for FOLX Health, a mental health and wellness telehealth platform for people in the LGBTQIA+ community.

Mental health disparities among transgender people are a serious public health concern. 

While the National Institute of Mental Health reports that about 8.3% of U.S. adults experience major depression, a 2023 study found that about 33% of transgender individuals report symptoms of depression.

Systemic problems, including stigma, attacks on civil rights and preventing access to health care, add to mental health challenges, Melina Wald, a clinical psychologist in private practice in Connecticut and New York state, told CNN via email.

Legislation targeting transgender health care has been on the rise. In 2018, Reisner noted, two bills were introduced, compared to 185 bills in 2023. 

“Recent Executive Orders banning ‘gender ideology’ and restricting the rights of trans people have devastating mental health consequences for trans communities,” she explained.

Experts said the study’s diverse sample -- including patients of different ages, races and socioeconomic backgrounds -- makes the findings especially valuable.

“That these patients benefited from care in these various primary care clinics in a diversity of communities suggests that effective gender affirmative hormone is no longer restricted to urban, academic, specialty clinics,” Forcier said.

Overall, research underscores the safety and benefits of hormone therapy.

“We have more than 25 years of consistent, persistent, insistent evidence that gender affirmative approaches to care for transgender persons offer a variety of medical and mental health benefits," Forcier said. "There are no studies that suggest that withholding medically indicated, safe, effective care (offers) any benefit at all.”

More information

Johns Hopkins Medicine has more on gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT).

SOURCE: CNN, March 17, 2025