Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) is conducting oversight of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) after the results of a $9.7 million taxpayer-funded research project studying the effects of puberty blockers for transgender youth were allegedly hidden by the project’s principal investigator. In a letter to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Monica Bertagnolli, Subcommittee Chairwoman McClain requests documents and information related to the ongoing project and unpublished project data.
“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is conducting oversight of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant of $9.7 million to an ongoing research project titled, ‘The Impact of Early Medical Treatment in Transgender Youth.
We are alarmed that the project’s principal investigator, Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, is withholding publication of the project’s research findings which cast doubt on the efficacy of the ‘gender affirming’ model, because she believes the findings could be ‘weaponized’ by critics of transgender medical interventions for children.”
– Lisa McClain
One study in this project, the Trans Youth Care (TYC) study, administered medical puberty blockers to 95 children in the early stages of puberty and monitored their mental health over two years. Dr. Olson-Kennedy has implied there have been no clinical impacts on mental health in the TYC cohort after initiating puberty blockers. However, a 2020 paper authored by TYC researchers contradicts this claim, stating the children displayed troubling mental health symptoms at the study’s outset.
“Dr. Olson-Kennedy’s apparent mischaracterization of the TYC study’s results and refusal to publish taxpayer-funded research because they contradict her pre-existing biases and could be cited by critics of ‘gender affirming’ medical interventions is an irrefutable example of politicization of scientific research to further an ideological agenda. Deliberately mischaracterizing and withholding the results of the TYC study has serious implications for the health and safety of children who are subjected to ‘gender affirming’ medical procedures, many of which are irreversible and hold lifelong implications despite lacking adequate scientific support for their efficacy or safety,” continued McClain. “NIH is responsible for overseeing its extramural research projects to ensure supported researchers practice transparency, exemplify scientific integrity, and are proper stewards of taxpayer funds. Therefore, in light of the NIH grantee’s unwillingness to release the research project’s findings, we ask that you provide documents and information to assist the Committee’s oversight of this matter.”
Read the full letter to NIH Director Bertagnolli here or below.
November 4, 2024
The Honorable Monica M. Bertagnolli, M.D.
Director
National Institutes of Health
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20892
Dear Director Bertagnolli,
The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is conducting oversight of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant of $9.7 million to an ongoing research project titled, “The Impact of Early Medical Treatment in Transgender Youth.” We are alarmed that the project’s principal investigator, Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, is withholding publication of the project’s research findings which cast doubt on the efficacy of the “gender affirming” model, because she believes the findings could be “weaponized” by critics of transgender medical interventions for children. NIH is responsible for overseeing its extramural research projects to ensure supported researchers practice transparency, exemplify scientific integrity, and are proper stewards of taxpayer funds. Therefore, in light of the NIH grantee’s unwillingness to release the research project’s findings, we ask that you provide documents and information to assist the Committee’s oversight of this matter.
One research study in this project, known as the Trans Youth Care (TYC) study, administered medical puberty blockers to 95 children in the early stages of puberty and observed subsequent mental health outcomes over two years. Nine years after the study began, Dr. Olson-Kennedy claims the TYC cohort did not report any mental health improvements after initiating puberty blockers. Furthermore, Dr. Olson-Kennedy claims the TYC cohort’s mental health was “in really good shape” when the study began, implying that puberty blockers have no adverse clinical impacts on mental health. However, a 2020 paper authored by TYC researchers conflicts with Dr. Olson-Kennedy’s account. According to this paper, the children in the TYC cohort did experience troubling mental health symptoms when the study began, with 51% reporting elevated depression symptoms, 57% reporting clinically significant anxiety, and two-thirds reporting suicidal ideations, with one-fourth of those experiencing at least one past suicide attempt.
Dr. Olson-Kennedy’s apparent mischaracterization of the TYC study’s results and refusal to publish taxpayer-funded research because they contradict her pre-existing biases and could be cited by critics of “gender affirming” medical interventions is an irrefutable example of politicization of scientific research to further an ideological agenda. Deliberately mischaracterizing and withholding the results of the TYC study has serious implications for the health and safety of children who are subjected to “gender affirming” medical procedures, many of which are irreversible and hold lifelong implications despite lacking adequate scientific support for their efficacy or safety.
NIH has a duty to conduct oversight of its extramural research grants and ensure that its funded research exemplifies its purported principles of scientific integrity. To assist the Committee’s oversight of this matter, please provide the following documents and information, covering the period from August 1, 2015, to the present, as soon as possible but no later than November 18, 2024:
- All research grant applications and summary statements regarding NIH Project Number 1R01HD082554, “The Impact of Early Medical Treatment in Transgender Youth,” including any and all documents related to or containing any discussion of medical ethics.
- All progress reports regarding NIH Project Number 1R01HD082554, “The Impact of Early Medical Treatment in Transgender Youth.”
- All unpublished project data in NIH’s possession, custody, or control regarding NIH Project Number 1R01HD082554, “The Impact of Early Medical Treatment in Transgender Youth.”
- All documents and communications between or among the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), NIH, and/or HHS, regarding NIH Project Number 1R01HD082554, “The Impact of Early Medical Treatment in Transgender Youth.”
To ask any follow-up questions or arrange for the delivery of responsive documents, please contact Committee on Oversight and Accountability staff at (202) 225-5074. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this inquiry.
Sincerely,
Lisa McClain
Chairwoman
Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services
cc: The Honorable Katie Porter, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services
Statistics are easily manipulated. It’s done all the time. Drug companies are one of the main culprits. They want to get a new drug on the market so they can convince doctors (many of who don’t read the studies) that it works better than it actually does and is “safe and effective” and they recommend it. And the unaware public buy into it without having a ghost of a chance of knowing what’s in it for them. The problem stems from the fact that the vast majority of doctors are attached to hospitals and the administrators of the hospitals (many who haven’t seen a patient in decades) are given manipulated statistics from the studies and they have never read the studies so they recommend the drug to the doctors. To add to this, the hospitals get paid to use the drug. This amounts to “… the blind leading the blind.”
The drug manufacturers are in business to make money, not to be honest and forthright with the public. NIH, CDC and every other “health” organization in government are ex pharmaceutical people. Quite a nice cozy deal. Just look at the national evening news, one would think their owned by drug companies. 90% of advertising is drug related. Sell drugs, tell you doctor thats the drug you want. I’m so glad R F Kennedy, Jr is now in a position to clean up the mess in Washington, DC and the buddy buddy connection. Your health is not what drug companies are in business for. Americans are walking drug addicts, convinced they need this drug or that drug.