The Endocrine Society is a professional organization for physicians and researchers involved in endocrinology, which involves the treatment of hormone-related diseases and conditions such as diabetes and growth-hormone deficiency. 1
It promotes public policy and clinical practices that include social transition, puberty blockers, sex hormones, and surgeries for gender-dysphoric patients, including adolescent children. 2 It has been criticized by medical professionals in the United States and abroad for overstating the level of scientific consensus on appropriate care for gender-dysphoric patients, especially children. 3 4
Background
The Endocrine Society was founded in 1917 as the Association for the Study of Internal Secretions, changing its name to the Endocrine Society in 1952. 5
It is a medical membership organization that supports research, publishes academic journals, provides continuing education programs, develops practice guidelines, holds meetings, and recognizes distinguished professionals in the field of endocrinology. 6
The Endocrine Society is also active in public policy advocacy, testifying in favor of preferred public policies and supporting increased funding for endocrinology research and treatment. 7
While its most prominent advocacy and academic focus for decades was on diabetes, the Endocrine Society has been increasingly active in debates over the use of hormones and other treatments on children and adults seeking care for gender dysphoria, including sex reassignment. 8 9
Role in Transgender Treatment and Advocacy
In 2020, the Endocrine Society issued a position statement on transgender health that supported puberty suppression, hormonal treatment, and surgical alteration for patients claiming to be transgender, including children. 10
In 2023, the British Medical Journal published an investigation into the lack of consensus among health care professionals around the world on the appropriate standards of care for transgender and gender-dysphoric patients. 11 It noted that the Endocrine Society’s standards of care are inconsistent with those of other nations such as Australia, Finland, France, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, where hormonal and surgical treatment of adolescents is either extremely rare or not available at all. 12
In the BMJ investigation, the Endocrine Society was described as one of the three main organizations behind the standards for transgender medical treatment in the United States, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. 13
Amicus Briefs
The Endocrine Society regularly files amicus briefs in litigation regarding issues of transgender health care and the treatment of gender dysphoric individuals, including children. 14 In its briefs, it promotes its preferred “standard of care” as the default model for medical professionals in America. 15
In 2023, the Endocrine Society joined the American Academy of Pediatrics and other amici in filing a brief in Loe v. Texas, a case challenging a Texas law banning certain “gender-affirming” treatments for adolescent children, including hormonal therapies. 16 The brief claims that “The widely accepted view of the professional medical community is that gender-affirming care is the appropriate treatment for gender dysphoria and that, for some adolescents, gender-affirming medical interventions are necessary.” 17
Cass Report
In 2024, the former president of the U.K.’s Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health released a report on care for children with gender dysphoria that had been commissioned by that country’s National Health Service. 18 Hilary Cass led an independent review into the research around transgender health care and provided recommendations for how the NHS should design its standard of care for children with gender dysphoria. 19
The Cass Report emphasized that a lack of evidence made it virtually impossible to develop evidence-based standards of care for adolescent patients. “This is an area of remarkably weak evidence, and yet results of studies are exaggerated or misrepresented by people on all sides of the debate to support their viewpoint. The reality is that we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress,” Cass wrote. 20
In a New York Times interview after the report’s publication, Cass criticized the American standard of care supported by the Endocrine Society as “a position that is now demonstrated to be out of date by multiple systematic reviews,” adding, “what some organizations are doing is doubling down on saying the evidence is good. And I think that’s where you’re misleading the public. You need to be honest about the strength of the evidence and say what you’re going to do to improve it.” 21
References
- Endocrine Society. “Our History.” Endocrine Society, June 9, 2021. https://www.endocrine.org/our-community/advancing-endocrinology-and-public-health/history.
- Hembree, Wylie C, Peggy T Cohen-Kettenis, Louis Gooren, Sabine E Hannema, Walter J Meyer, M Hassan Murad, Stephen M Rosenthal, Joshua D Safer, Vin Tangpricha, and Guy G T’Sjoen. “Endocrine Treatment of Gender-Dysphoric/Gender-Incongruent Persons: An Endocrine Society* Clinical Practice Guideline.” The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 102, no. 11 (September 13, 2017): 3869–3903. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2017-01658.
- Ghorayshi, Azeen. “Hilary Cass Says U.S. Doctors Are ‘out of Date’ on Youth Gender Medicine.” The New York Times, May 13, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/13/health/hilary-cass-transgender-youth-puberty-blockers.html.
- Block, Jennifer. “Gender Dysphoria in Young People Is Rising-and so Is Professional Disagreement.” The BMJ, February 23, 2023. https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p382.
- “Our History.” Endocrine Society. https://www.endocrine.org/our-community/advancing-endocrinology-and-public-health/history
- Endocrine Society. “Our History.” Endocrine Society, June 9, 2021. https://www.endocrine.org/our-community/advancing-endocrinology-and-public-health/history.
- “Advocacy.” Endocrine Society. Accessed June 10, 2024. https://www.endocrine.org/advocacy.
- “Advocacy.” Endocrine Society. Accessed June 10, 2024. https://www.endocrine.org/advocacy.
- “Transgender Health.” Endocrine Society, December 16, 2020. https://www.endocrine.org/advocacy/position-statements/transgender-health.
- “Transgender Health.” Endocrine Society, December 16, 2020. https://www.endocrine.org/advocacy/position-statements/transgender-health.
- Block, Jennifer. “Gender Dysphoria in Young People Is Rising-and so Is Professional Disagreement.” The BMJ, February 23, 2023. https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p382.
- Block, Jennifer. “Gender Dysphoria in Young People Is Rising-and so Is Professional Disagreement.” The BMJ, February 23, 2023. https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p382.
- Block, Jennifer. “Gender Dysphoria in Young People Is Rising-and so Is Professional Disagreement.” The BMJ, February 23, 2023. https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p382.
- “Amicus Briefs.” Endocrine Society. Accessed June 10, 2024. https://www.endocrine.org/advocacy/court-briefs.
- “Amicus Briefs.” Endocrine Society. Accessed June 10, 2024. https://www.endocrine.org/advocacy/court-briefs.
- “Loe v. Texas.” Endocrine Society, September 7, 2023. https://www.endocrine.org/advocacy/court-briefs/loe-v-texas.
- “Loe v. Texas.” Endocrine Society, September 7, 2023. https://www.endocrine.org/advocacy/court-briefs/loe-v-texas.
- Ghorayshi, Azeen. “Hilary Cass Says U.S. Doctors Are ‘out of Date’ on Youth Gender Medicine.” The New York Times, May 13, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/13/health/hilary-cass-transgender-youth-puberty-blockers.html.
- Cass, Hilary. “Final Report.” The Cass Review, April 2024. https://cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/final-report/.
- Cass, Hilary. “Final Report.” The Cass Review, April 2024. https://cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/final-report/.
- Ghorayshi, Azeen. “Hilary Cass Says U.S. Doctors Are ‘out of Date’ on Youth Gender Medicine.” The New York Times, May 13, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/13/health/hilary-cass-transgender-youth-puberty-blockers.html.