Do Transgender Youth Benefit from Hormone-Replacement Therapy? Part II

The New England Journal of Medicine raises vital questions about its own published research

Photo by Mercedes Mehling on Unsplash

[Part I, in which I critique the NEJM’s original research, is available here.]

Each edition of the New England Journal of Medicine includes at least one editorial on an original piece of research in that issue. These are authoritative critiques, written by leading experts invited by the Journal, meant to place the research in scientific context and point to any serious flaws. Dutch psychiatrist Annalou de Vries, the lead author of one such editorial from the January 19th, 2023, issue, is notable for being a member of the left-wing World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH), where she serves on a committee for children and adolescents. De Vries also heads up the Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria, housed at Amsterdam University Medical Centers.

In short, de Vries is a longstanding proponent of various medical interventions for transgender youth. Yet even she points to significant problems with the NEJM’s new and widely cited study by Diane Chen et al.