The line about puberty blocking intrigued me so I did some internet research (I know, I know). Looks like puberty blockers are only supposed to be a first step, lasting 2 years tops, so if the person taking them starts at 14, they should be off by 16. It’s basically a way to “buy time”
So then I thought to myself, what would happen if a doctor just kept prescribing these things. Sure, someone could probably get away with delaying puberty up until 18-19 and still get away with it. Plenty of late-bloomers could attest to that, but what happens if you’re in these things till 30?
Well, short answer, no one knows. Long answer though is that there are several papers trying to extrapolate what would happen (most of which seem very neutral or pro-trans modifications). A few points brought up:
Bone density: yeah this has the potential of fucking you up as you age
Diabeties/Obesity/Kidney&liver issues: this comes from studies of post-menopausal women and older men with low T. The paper admits that this might not hold true for someone who has never entered puberty, but it’s something to keep an eye on.
Genitalia: obviously they wouldn’t develop, and there were talks about the organs going into atrophy. Not to mention the ability to reproduce. There was also a brief discussion that pre-pubescent genitalia are unsuited for many “bottom” surgeries. They didn’t go into too much detail about this except to say that there wouldn’t be enough skin, and I didn’t look any further!
Brain development: this is the one that blew me. The onset of puberty tends to correlate with a rise in executive functioning and generally getting a grown-ups brain. Now, they admit, no one is 100% sure if there’s even a connection there, but the idea the hormones would affect the brain isn’t out of the realm of logic. Long term use could trap individuals in child-like brains without the ability to gain higher functions of thought. There were a few studies trying to do cognitive tests on cis and trans kids but honestly they looked like shit.
A concern of mine that I didn’t see explored, Cancer: I am not a doctor, nor am I doctor adjacent. But I have noticed a Trend that, when a body has an organ it isn’t using, that organs gettin cancer. So, while (natural) late onset puberty correlates with a decreased instance in gonad cancer, I can’t help but wonder if long term blockers would instigate cancer in either the gonads or the pituitary. Again, this is pure conjecture on my part based on what little I know of medicine. Happy to be out in my place.
Mind you, none of this has happened or is happening. Everything I read spoke in hypotheticals. I couldn’t even find any animal studies though maybe someone with better PubMed skills could give a look. Just thought it would be an interesting look
I read a few write ups but this one is pretty complete and touches on all bases (has a huge ethics section too if you’re interested).
https://jme.bmj.com/content/46/11/743