Does medical or surgical transitioning reduce rates of gender dysphoria?: A systematic review.

Authors

Benjamin Chang

Published in

The New bioethics : a multidisciplinary journal of biotechnology and the body. Pages 1-9. Aug 12, 2026. Epub Aug 12, 2026.

Abstract

Background Cross-sex hormones and transition surgery are widely utilized interventions for people experiencing gender dysphoria. However, there is surprisingly little clarity around the evidence for the efficacy of these therapies.Methods A systematic search of PubMed, PsycINFO and Cochrane Library was carried out. Inclusion criteria targeted peer-reviewed studies that assessed the effect of cross-sex hormones or transition surgery on gender dysphoria.Results Five studies met the inclusion criteria (N = 857). All five indicated association between medical or surgical intervention and reduction in gender dysphoria. However, there was a noticeable shortage of randomized controlled trials, control groups and extended follow-up periods. There was also a high degree of ambiguity around the clinical applicability of the results.Conclusion At present there is a paucity of high-quality evidence for the efficacy of cross-sex hormones and transition surgery for reducing gender dysphoria. More research is needed in this area before efficacy can be established.

PMID:
42585545
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Aug 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.