TRANSHEALTHHUB  BLOG

The risks of gender-affirming hormones in adolescents sort into three groups: effects that are expected and permanent, effects that are unwanted but manageable, and open questions.

Supportive care for a transgender teen can affect future fertility, and the degree depends on which parts of that care a young person pursues and for how long, according to Mayo Clinic and the Endocrine Society.

Estrogen therapy (also called feminizing hormone therapy) causes predictable physical changes alongside a set of monitored side effects; most reported effects are mild and managed through routine follow-up, according to Mayo Clinic.

Side effects of testosterone for trans teens fall into two groups that are reported as one: the changes the treatment is meant to produce and the unwanted effects clinicians watch for.

Hormone replacement therapy for trans youth, often called gender-affirming hormone therapy, means estrogen (for a feminizing effect) or testosterone (for a masculinizing effect) to bring the body in line with a young person's gender identity.