Regret Rate of Medical Transition
Introduction to Regret Rates
- The regret rate following gender-affirming medical interventions is approximately 1% across both surgical and hormonal treatments, as demonstrated by a high-quality systematic review of 27 studies pooling 7,928 transgender patients 1, 2, 3
Specific Regret Rates by Intervention Type
- Trans women show a 2% regret rate for gender-affirming treatment overall 1
- Trans men show a 1% regret rate for gender-affirming treatment overall 1
Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy (GAHT) Outcomes
- Little to no evidence of significant regret following hormone therapy with estrogen or testosterone 1, 2, 4
- No evidence that GAHT produces adverse mental health outcomes that would lead to regret 2, 5, 6
- Hormone therapy demonstrates a 20% decrease in depression after 1 year of treatment in both trans men and women 2, 5, 6
Classification of Regret
- Loss of family, social, and occupational support are the leading causes of social regret, affecting 37% of regret cases 1, 3
- Dissatisfaction with surgical results, including suboptimal cosmetic outcomes, accounts for 8% of regret cases 1, 3
Quality of Life Outcomes
- Trans men experience a 5.5-point increase on a 10-point QOL scale after 1 year of GAHT 2, 5
- Trans women experience a 16% improvement in QOL scores after 1 year of hormone treatment 2, 5, 6
- Gender-affirming surgery improves QOL, decreases gender dysphoria, and increases satisfaction with sexual experiences 2, 5
Critical Clinical Considerations
- Discontinuing hormone therapy due to concerns about potential regret significantly worsens gender dysphoria and mental health outcomes 6, 7
- Postoperative psychological and spiritual support during recovery is valued by patients, with 61% of patients grateful for chaplain visits and 58% requesting follow-up support calls 1, 3