A new pro-trans study that liberal media outlets are touting as proof of the benefits of top surgery has serious flaws.
The journal JAMA Surgery published a study on Wednesday claiming to show overwhelming satisfaction among transgender individuals who underwent breast removal for “gender-affirmation” purposes. The study found a “median satisfaction score” of “5 on a 5-point scale,” and a “median decisional regret score” of “0 on a 100-point scale.” The study concludes that there are “low rates of decisional regret and high levels of satisfaction with decision following gender-affirming mastectomy.” (RELATED: LGBT Activist’s Study About Transgender ‘Social Contagion’ Falls Apart Under Scrutiny)
Conservative social media commentators quickly pointed out that the study has glaring issues.
It’s worth repeating that the regret rate for mastectomies among women with *breast cancer* typically falls within the range of 5-18%. However, in the case of trans individuals, the claimed regret rate is purportedly 0%.
Go figure….
I’m sure this study’s above board 🤔 and… https://t.co/8cHLCgDUdP
— EY₳SU.sol ☔👌🐻 (@Eyasu2323) August 9, 2023
Leor Sapir, Manhattan Institute Fellow, alleged that CNN’s reporting on the study was dishonest.
“Do you think results from a survey of adults who got surgery in their late 20’s apply automatically to 13-16 year old teenage girls?” Sapir tweeted. “The omission speaks volumes. There are other problems with the study not discussed in Jen’s article, but this level of dishonesty in reporting is just stunning to behold. And for what?”
The study had a response rate of just 59.1 percent, suggesting a high degree of selection bias.
Nephrologist Brent A. Williams was also incredulous, tweeting, “This is impossible.”
A study from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center showed a five percent regret rate for breast cancer patients who underwent mastectomies.
The JAMA Surgery study also indicated that all participants met the “World Professional Association for Transgender Health standards of care surgical requirements at the time of their operation prior to undergoing mastectomy.” WPATH has suggested that minors be allowed access to top surgery in the past.
Heritage Foundation has found problems with similar research, noting that these studies generally “rely upon surveys of trans-identifying adults recruited from trans support and advocacy groups, so they are not representative of all people who have experienced gender dysphoria as adolescents. In particular, these studies are less likely to include people who resolved these issues without medical intervention.”