I have searched and it does not look as if this has been posted already.
www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01237-z
Multi-centre, international study initiated in 2010 by endocrinologist Guy T’Sjoen at Ghent University Hospital, Belgium. The article says that his involvement is "unfunded". Gender Clinics involved: Amsterdam, Ghent, Hamburg, and Oslo.
Nature - 24 April 2019 - Sara Reardon
The largest study involving transgender people is providing long-sought insights about their health
The research examines once taboo questions about the impacts of gender transition.
"The European Network for the Investigation of Gender Incongruence (ENIGI) is the largest study of transgender people in the world, and it’s unique: most studies are small and look at the outcomes of people who have already undergone hormone treatment and surgery. That has left scientists and physicians with little data about the long-term effects of such treatment on health, such as cancer susceptibility, or how the brain and body change as people transition both socially and medically. Joshua Safer, an endocrinologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, says that ENIGI is a major contribution to his field, and praises T’Sjoen for the scale of its ambition. “He’s doing this on his own without tons of resources. It’s very impressive,” Safer says."
There are Mumsnetters much better equipped than I am to comment on the claims made in this lengthy article.
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The final sentence here (my bolded emphasis) reminds me of "the wrong side of history".
"ENIGI and a handful of other emerging studies could provide invaluable information. Media attention on transgender issues and a general shift in public opinion over the past decade has allowed more people than ever to open up about how they identify and to seek treatment. But even though scientific societies have produced medical guidelines, each person’s treatment is still generally a matter of an individual physician’s judgement.
ENIGI and a few other studies hope to change that by providing data on the best treatments and outcomes. The research could also reveal some of the basic biology underlying differences among sexes. Tantalizing hints are already beginning to emerge about the respective roles of hormones and genetics in gender identity. And findings are beginning to clarify the medical and psychological impacts of transitioning. T’Sjoen thinks that the rapidly growing field already has the potential to improve the care that people receive. "Saying you’re not informed about this topic is not really valid any more,” he says. “It’s just that you’re lazy."
This next statement really surprised me as I have not come across any other references to trans activists in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Norway protesting and disrupting meetings because they feel there should be NO medical interventions for trans people! This seems to be the exact opposite of what we are used to hearing!
"Although transgender issues are becoming more mainstream, the topic remains politically charged. The European groups sometimes encounter transgender activists who oppose any medical intervention — T’Sjoen says he has had talks disrupted by people arguing that transgender people should not give in to social pressure. Although that could be true for some people, he says, for others, “even if they were living somewhere on a desert island, they would still want to change their body”.
This suggests that non-dysphoric trans people (non-binary, "gender queer" and adult male "cross-dressers") are taking over the trans movement at the expense of dysphoric transsexuals.
It does not fit with "follow the money" explanations for transactivism but fits much better with "queering society" theories.
"Being Trans just means saying you are Trans" is the ultimate aim going by one of the Keynote Speeches at EPATH 2019.
(I have already posted about the EPATH speech here:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3574976-Transactivists-deny-Gender-Dysphoria-exists-The-aim-is-to-STOP-kids-having-access-to-hormones-and-surgery? )
With that in mind, I am not convinced that this view about priorities for research is well balanced, also bearing in mind past suppression of research, successful lobbying of the World Health Organisation to re-classify "Gender Disorders/Incongruence" and erasure of any mention of "Transvestic Fetishism", etc.
"The researchers must tread carefully to avoid making things more difficult for a group that is already stigmatized. This requires consultation with transgender people on their priorities, T’Sjoen says, and putting these ahead of questions that are simply scientifically interesting."
Videos linked in the article (the Unlisted Videos will not show up in YouTube Search)
"I get that question a lot" (Unlisted Video)
Guy T'Sjoen discusses his involvement in ENIGI.
"That day, to me, is very special" (Unlisted Video)
Senne Misplon, a transgender man, describes his experience taking testosterone.
"Understanding transition"
For transgender people, transitioning to a life reflecting one's gender identity can be a defining process. But until recently, relatively little research had been carried out on the great social and physical changes that many go through during hormone treatment. The city of Ghent in Belgium has become a hub for trans and non binary people as they transition. Here, in 2010, a unique study of transgender people was launched: the European Network for the Investigation of Gender Incongruence (ENIGI). The study is giving researchers a comprehensive look at how hormone treatment affects different people so that they can offer more support as trans people travel through this challenging stage of life.