--- title: "People Who Got Hormone Therapy as Teenagers End Up With a Lower Regret Rate Years Later Than Knee Replacement Surgery, Research Finds" description: "Some 97 percent of people who underwent hormone replacement as teenagers say it was the correct decision five years later, researchers found." date: "2026-11-15" modified: "2026-11-15" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins.md" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/hormone-therapy-transgender-care-research" categories: - "Future Society" - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Studies" - "Treatments" --- # People Who Got Hormone Therapy as Teenagers End Up With a Lower Regret Rate Years Later Than Knee Replacement Surgery, Research Finds ![A transgender pride flag being waved at a pride parade.]() *Shutterstock* One of the most pernicious lines of attacks used to denigrate transgender people has been "transition regret" — the notion that a significant number of patients who undergo gender affirming treatment will go on to feel badly about the process. But new research finds that hormone therapy, one of the most common treatments in trans medicine, has a phenomenally low rate of regret — lower, in fact, than common procedures like knee replacement surgery. According to the study, [published in *JAMA Pediatrics*]() and reported [by the *Washington Post*](), the vast majority of patients who undergo hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as teenagers have no regrets years later. To reach that conclusion, researchers followed 372 transgender and gender-diverse people who chose to go through with hormone therapy. The average participant was around 16 when they began hormone therapy, and around 21 when the survey results were collected. The numbers are stark: of those who do undergo HRT, nearly 97 percent of participants affirmed it was the right choice five years later. Just 2.7 percent said they regretted the therapy, which included seven who said the treatment harmed them. For context, that's a lower dissatisfaction rate than common orthopedic procedures like knee replacement surgery, which has a regret rate ranging between [10 and 20 percent](), depending on what data you examine. The satisfaction rate for hormone replacement is slightly higher than even the rosiest findings around hip replacement, where only around [five percent]() of patients express regret. Though less than 0.1 percent of youth in the US will ever undergo HRT, the findings support [past research]() which found that gender affirming care is an overwhelming net benefit for trans youth — contrary to the messaging from right-wing politicians who [hone in on the regrets]() of a handful of vocal detransitioners. As child and adolescent psychiatrist Scott Leibowitz told *WaPo*, the new research "adds to the growing evidence base that demonstrates individualized gender-affirming care can be beneficial for a young person." "This study adds to the importance of working with young people and their families to ensure they understand all possible outcomes when making a treatment decision," Leibowitz continued. "These decisions should be reserved for the doctor's office, and not with the politicians." **More on Trans rights:** *[Madison Square Garden Reportedly Used Facial Recognition to Stalk Trans Woman For Two Years]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() ## More - [Study Finds That Trans Youth Who Get Gender-Affirming Hormones Are Less Depressed]() - [Banning Gender Transition Treatment Is Leading Kids to Do Exactly What You’d Expect]() - [The Trump Administration Reportedly Has Extensive Logs of Epstein Money Transfers, Refuses to Release Them]() - [Calm Down About the Area 51 Fire, People]() - [We Just Got a Major Clue About Why Twitter’s CEO Suddenly Left This Week]() - [Elon Musk Says He Is So Sorry for His Horrible Behavior]() - [United Airlines Shuts Down Starlink WiFi Service on Its Planes After the Antennae Caused Problems With Its Jets’ Equipment]() - [Hawk Tuah Girl Admits She Knew Essentially Zero About Crypto When Her Disastrous Meme Coin Launched]()