Clarifying the Less than 1%: The False Alarm of Transition Regret,Discontinuation,and Detransition

Abstract

Recent U.S. government directives under the Trump administration have prioritized funding research on regret and detransition following gender-affirming care. Empirical evidence demonstrates that regret following gender-affirming care is exceedingly rare, occurring in less than 1% of recipients according to systematic reviews—with epidemiological evidence estimating approximately 1 in 1 million people. This disproportionate research focus violates health equity principles by diverting resources from well-documented health disparities affecting larger segments of transgender and nonbinary (trans) populations. Studying such rare outcomes also presents extremely significant methodological challenges. We argue that epidemiological-based research priorities, rather than ideologically driven agenda should inform trans health.