The Effects of Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy on Mental Health Treatment Utilisation among Gender Minorities: Evidence from whole-of-population Australian administrative data
Transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse (TGD) people experience poorer mental health relative to cisgender populations. Gender affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is associated with improved mental health outcomes, but there is limited population level evidence evaluating mental healthcare utilisation.
Methods
Using longitudinal administrative data on healthcare utilisation and gender markers spanning 2012-2024, we first identify TGD people who received masculinising or feminising GAHT. We then study the mental health effects of access to gender affirming care using an event study difference-in-differences framework, where we compare TGD individuals’ utilisation of mental healthcare before and after accessing GAHT to those who will receive GAHT in the future.
Findings
We find GAHT leads to a reduction in mental healthcare services and mental health prescriptions, with effects being more pronounced for those accessing masculinising vs feminising care and for younger populations.
Interpretation
Enhancing public access to gender affirming care for TGD Australians should be considered to reduce inequalities in mental health and associated mental healthcare costs. Restrictions on GAHT access are likely to have long term deleterious mental health effects for TGD individuals, particularly for young people.
Speaker profile
Karinna Saxby is a Health Economist at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on the economics of healthcare use in Australia, with a particular focus on priority populations including people with disability, LGBTQ populations, and Indigenous peoples. Her recent research has looked at financial incentives in primary care (e.g., Rural Bulk Billing Incentive, Closing the Gap), how societal level conditions shape health outcomes and healthcare use among LGBTQ Australians and Indigenous peoples, and geographic variation in access to healthcare.
Weekly seminar series
As part of our Centre's vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
For further information on our seminar series, please contact Trong-Anh.Trinh@monash.edu.
Event Details
- Date:
- 7 May 2025 at 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
- Venue:
- Caulfield campus, Building H, level 8, room H8.13
- Categories:
- CHE Seminar; General
Description
Transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse (TGD) people experience poorer mental health relative to cisgender populations. Gender affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is associated with improved mental health outcomes, but there is limited population level evidence evaluating mental healthcare utilisation.
Methods
Using longitudinal administrative data on healthcare utilisation and gender markers spanning 2012-2024, we first identify TGD people who received masculinising or feminising GAHT. We then study the mental health effects of access to gender affirming care using an event study difference-in-differences framework, where we compare TGD individuals’ utilisation of mental healthcare before and after accessing GAHT to those who will receive GAHT in the future.
Findings
We find GAHT leads to a reduction in mental healthcare services and mental health prescriptions, with effects being more pronounced for those accessing masculinising vs feminising care and for younger populations.
Interpretation
Enhancing public access to gender affirming care for TGD Australians should be considered to reduce inequalities in mental health and associated mental healthcare costs. Restrictions on GAHT access are likely to have long term deleterious mental health effects for TGD individuals, particularly for young people.
Speaker profile
Karinna Saxby is a Health Economist at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on the economics of healthcare use in Australia, with a particular focus on priority populations including people with disability, LGBTQ populations, and Indigenous peoples. Her recent research has looked at financial incentives in primary care (e.g., Rural Bulk Billing Incentive, Closing the Gap), how societal level conditions shape health outcomes and healthcare use among LGBTQ Australians and Indigenous peoples, and geographic variation in access to healthcare.
Weekly seminar series
As part of our Centre's vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
For further information on our seminar series, please contact Trong-Anh.Trinh@monash.edu.