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Throughout puberty, all types of hormonal adjustments happen within the physique, which result in the event of exterior sexual traits, equivalent to breast development, a decrease voice or physique hair development. For transgender younger individuals who don’t establish with the gender assigned to them at delivery, these are sometimes undesirable adjustments, which could be very drastic.
Puberty blockers can briefly halt these developments and provides younger folks time to discover their gender identification. Though puberty blockers have been confirmed to contribute to the psychological well-being of transgender younger folks, little is thought in regards to the affect of puberty blockers on sexual satisfaction and sexual issues later in life.
Researchers from Amsterdam UMC introduced 70 transgender adults with questionnaires. All individuals began with puberty blockers after which obtained gender-affirming hormones. The individuals accomplished the questionnaire about sexual experiences, satisfaction, and potential sexual issues on common 14 years after the beginning of their remedy.
The findings have been revealed within the Journal of Sexual Drugs & Analysis.
Isabelle van der Meulen, researcher at Amsterdam UMC, explains, “Our results show that more than half of trans men and 40% of trans women are satisfied with their sex lives. This corresponds to the sexual satisfaction of the cisgender population. There was also no difference between people who started puberty blockers early or later in puberty.”
Most individuals had no bother with want, arousal or having an orgasm. Of the sexual issues that have been talked about, problem taking initiative was the commonest drawback amongst trans males, whereas reaching orgasm was probably the most continuously talked about amongst trans girls.
Nonetheless, most individuals indicated that these issues have been solely skilled as traumatic to a restricted extent. The frequency of sexual issues was according to earlier research amongst transgender adults who didn’t begin hormone remedy till maturity.
These outcomes present vital insights for well being care suppliers within the steering of transgender youth and may scale back issues about sexual functioning later in life.
Van der Meulen emphasizes, “With these results, we can better inform young people when starting puberty blockers about what they can expect sexually later in life.” On the identical time, the researchers underline that sexual experiences are complicated and are influenced by each bodily and psychosocial components.
“For example, seeking and initiating sexual contact was often mentioned as a problem, something that is not directly related to the physical effects of hormone therapy. That is why it is important to pay attention to the psychosocial aspects of sexuality in the counseling,” says Van der Meulen.
Extra data:
Sexual satisfaction and dysfunction in transgender adults following puberty suppression remedy throughout adolescence, Journal of Sexual Drugs & Analysis (2025).
Offered by
Amsterdam College Medical Facilities
Quotation:
Puberty blockers don’t trigger issues with sexual functioning in transgender adults, examine finds (2025, June 17)
retrieved 17 June 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/information/2025-06-puberty-blockers-problems-sexual-functioning.html
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