Conversion Therapy Harms LGBTQ Heart Health
A new study claims that being subjected to conversion therapy may lead to high blood pressure and increased heart inflammation.
A new study claims that being subjected to conversion therapy may damage a young person’s long-term heart health.
According to the study, published in the online medical journal JAMA Network Open, young adults who were assigned male at birth were three times as likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure if they had been exposed to conversion therapy.
The study also found that those same young adults who were exposed to conversion therapy also had higher levels of inflammation and elevated blood pressure levels, both of which can contribute to poor heart health, reports UPI.
The study, conducted between December 1, 2023, and October 31, 2024, examined health data from 703 individuals from Chicago who were sexual or gender minorities and had been assigned male at birth. Approximately 77% were cisgender, and 23% were transgender or gender diverse.
About 10% of participants reported having been subjected to conversion therapy, a practice that seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, or at least curb the person’s feelings of same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria.
It takes the form of various interventions ranging from “talk therapy” to religious proselytizing to types of aversion therapy, such as forced vomiting, physical self-punishment, and electroshock therapy.
Researchers tested heart health measures, including blood pressure and blood markers indicative of heart inflammation. Participants were also asked if they’d been diagnosed with high blood pressure.
Those people who were subjected to conversion therapy were 2.9 times as likely to have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, even though their average age was around 27 — which is considered very early to be diagnosed with such health problems.
The study also found that those subjected to conversion therapy were more likely to have elevated blood pressure levels at the time of the researchers’ health check, and their blood showed more plasma biomarkers indicative of inflammation.
Those associations remained significant even after researchers adjusted for sociodemographic and behavioral factors that might otherwise have influenced the outcome of the study.
“This is the first study, to our knowledge, to document elevated blood pressure and systemic inflammation, important factors shaping the risk of adverse cardiovascular health outcomes, among sexual and gender minority people exposed to [conversion therapy],” wrote the study’s research team, led by senior author Brian Mustanski, the director of the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing at Northwestern University.
Researchers noted that because the average age of exposure to conversion therapy was at age 13 for study participants, they hypothesize that “it is possible that stress from [conversion therapy] exposure during this period shapes the risk of adverse biological health outcomes later in adulthood.”
More research is needed to figure out the “biological pathways and mechanisms” by which exposure to conversion therapy influences heart health outcomes in adulthood.
The researchers recommended that future research be conducted to determine whether psychological interventions that promote healing from conversion therapy can reverse the negative physical health outcomes observed in the study.
“Addressing the harmful effects of [conversion therapy] will require coordinated efforts from health care professionals, policymakers, and public health leaders,” they concluded. “By implementing policies that prohibit [conversion therapy] and promoting acceptance of sexual and gender diversity, we can better support the health of sexual and gender minority individuals.”
Despite being widely denounced by most major medical and mental health organizations, and having previously been linked to heightened risk of depression, anxiety, or suicidal ideation, conversion therapy is being promoted by Republicans.
Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of Christian counselors wishing to engage in the practice to overturn local bans in Kansas City and Jackson County. In March, Kentucky Republicans voted to overturn an executive order from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear blocking the use of taxpayer dollars to cover the cost of conversion therapy.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a case seeking to overturn state-level bans on conversion therapy, arguing that the restrictions on professional conduct infringe upon free speech and the religious practices of counselors and their clients. A broad decision from the conservative court could upend restrictions in place in 28 states.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report on gender-affirming health care for transgender minors that endorses “exploratory therapy” in lieu of gender-affirming care or “talk therapy” that affirms a person’s gender identity.
Critics claim the treatment recommended by HHS is conversion therapy by any other name and is undertaken with a predetermined outcome in mind, with therapists seeking to eradicate patients’ feelings of gender dysphoria rather than truly allowing patients to explore their own feelings or set their own goals for therapy.
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