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OTTAWA — Just over 100 new prescriptions for hormone-related drugs were filled last year for Albertans between the ages of 11 and 15, according to data from the province’s Pharmaceutical Information Network.
There were a total of 107 “first pharmacy dispenses” of estrogen, testosterone and puberty blocker leuprolide in 2023. This was down from 139 first dispenses in 2022 and 124 in 2021, marking a three-year low.
2021 was the first year that first dispenses topped 100, marking a 28 per cent increase from 2020.
The figures don’t necessarily represent the true number of 11 to 15-year-olds who initiated hormone therapies, as some patients may have started on more than one of these drugs in a given calendar year.
Provincial population estimates indicate there are roughly 275,000 Albertans in this age range.
It’s also uncertain how many of these doses were prescribed for the purpose of gender reassignment.
Leuprolide, for example, is commonly prescribed to postpone early puberty, although this treatment generally runs its course by the time children reach their late preteens.
The data also shows that there were between three and six times more prescriptions filled for testosterone than estrogen each year since 2019, suggesting a disproportionate demand for gender-affirming medications among female-born adolescents.
Dr. J. Edward Les, a Calgary-based emergency pediatric physician who has supported Smith’s policies, said that adolescent girls may be predisposed to gender-related distress for reasons similar to why they’re more susceptible to body dysmorphic disorders like anorexia and bulimia.
“Being a teenage girl is difficult,” Les said in an interview. “And it comes with a lot of social pressures and anxieties that can trigger intense feelings of dissatisfaction with one’s body.”
Les suspects that different patterns of social media use among adolescent girls and boys may be part of what’s driving this trend.
“We’ve learned a lot in recent years about about how social media is impacting preteens and teenagers. And indisputably, it’s had more of an impact on girls who are on platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and Tiktok.”
The Alberta numbers share a gender skew found in peer jurisdictions like the United States and United Kingdom, where adolescents assigned female at birth account for a growing majority of minors seeking out gender-affirming drugs and medical procedures.
This is a reversal of the long-term trend as male-to-female transitions have historically been more prevalent than female-to-male transitions. Per the 2021 census, there were 31,555 transgender women and 27,905 transgender men aged 15 and over across Canada.
A recent review of gender identity services for minors led by retired British pediatrician Hilary Cass described the increase in young people with a trans or gender diverse identity as a result of “a complex interplay between biological, psychological and social factors.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said last week that she’d soon be introducing new legislation banning the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapies for the purpose of gender reassignment for Albertans under the age of 16.
The new legislation is expected to be introduced shortly after Alberta’s legislature reconvenes later this month.
Minors who have already started using these drugs for the purpose of gender reassignment may continue to use them under the new law.
National Post [email protected]
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