2020, Council for Choices in Health Care in Finland (PALKO/COHERE)1, Medical Treatment
Methods for Dysphoria Related to Gender Variance in Minors (report regarding gender dysphoric youth under age 25) — findings and recommendations:

  • No medical treatment for gender dysphoria is evidence-based.
  • Gender reassignment on minors is experimental.
  • Gender reassignment does not alleviate comorbid mental health issues.
  • Hormone therapy can interfere with an adolescent’s natural process of identity development
  • Autistic youth are overrepresented among those suffering from gender dysphoria.
  • The first-line treatment for gender dysphoria is psychosocial support and, as necessary, psychotherapy and treatment of possible comorbid psychiatric disorders.
  • Minors must have their mental and behavioral health issues resolved before determination of their stable gender identity.
  • All gender treatments for youth shall be performed in research settings.
  • With pre-pubescent children, if the gender dysphoria is severe, persistent, and increases at puberty, on a case-by-case basis the child may be sent to the research group for suppression of puberty or halting of menses with a prerequisite of in-depth assessment.
  • For adolescents with dysphoria at puberty, provided the distress is not typical for normal child development, does not subside after psychotherapy, and appears to be the stable identity, the child can be sent to the research group for possible hormones.
  • Hormonal interventions on minors must be done with a great deal of caution.
  • “No decisions should be made that can permanently alter a still-maturing minor’s mental and physical development.”
  • MINORS ARE NOT PERMITTED SURGICAL INTERVENTIONS

1 Finnish Studies – (1) a study of 70 adolescents placed on puberty blockers, resulted in no decrease in gender dysphoria; (2) a study of 201 adolescents, of the 100 who just received psychological inventions, they showed improvements in global functioning at 6 months. The other 101 were placed on puberty blockers combined with psychological inventions. They
showed improvements at 12 and 18 months; and (3) a study of cross-sex hormones showed that hormones did not alleviate developmental and psychiatric symptoms in youth. Thus, the Fins saw no benefit in putting a child on puberty blockers or hormones.

Updates:

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/science/articles/finland-youth-gender-medicine