A resurfaced 2021 study from the American Urological Association found that men who underwent transgender surgery were more likely to commit suicide than before transitioning.
“The overall rates of suicide attempts doubled after vaginoplasty,” the study stated.
Researchers examined data from the state of California, assessing 869 men and 357 women who received transgender operations from 2012-2018.
22.2% of those who had a vaginoplasty and 20.7% of those who had a phalloplasty experienced at least one ER or in-patient psychiatric encounter during the timeframe of the study.
“Rates of psychiatric emergencies are high both before and after gender affirming surgery [GAS],” according to the study. “Although both the phalloplasty and vaginoplasty patients have similar overall rates of psychiatric encounters, suicide attempts are more common in the latter.”
“In fact, our observed rate of suicide attempts in the phalloplasty group is actually similar to the general population, while the vaginoplasty group’s rate is more than double that of the general population. Patients undergoing GAS with a history of prior psychiatric emergencies or feminizing transition are at higher risk and should be counseled appropriately.”
Study finds that the attempted-suicide rate among transgender women who received a vaginoplasty in California was twice as high during the period after the surgery compared with the period before the surgery.
— Benjamin Ryan (@benryanwriter) March 11, 2024
The investigaotrs analyzed data on all 868 people who received a… pic.twitter.com/RO6zKC7Xt3
A Danish study 42 years in the making similarly found that suicide rates and psychiatric conditions are higher among transgender individuals than non-transgender people.
“Transgender individuals had higher rates of suicide attempt and mortality compared with nontransgender individuals,” the study states.
The study also noted that about 43% of transgender people had a psychiatric diagnosis, compared to 7% of non-transgender individuals. It explained that part of the increasing “prevalence of transgender individuals” is linked to a “stronger presence of transgender role models in the media, destigmatization, and increased societal openness toward gender identity issues.”
