Jack Turban

• Doctor of Medicine
• Child Psychiatry Fellow at Stanford Medicine

It is estimated that as many as 1% of American adolescents have a gender identity that is not congruent with their sex assigned at birth.¹ Guidelines developed in the Netherlands and then adopted throughout the world allow clinicians to prevent physical changes of puberty with the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs (GnRHa) when the first...

The Authors respond: We appreciate Dr. Kalatunga-Moruzi's interest in our recent publication that, in a large sample of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adults from the 2015 US Transgender Survey (USTS), examined the age at which people first came to understand their TGD identities and the age at which they first shared these with another perso...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261039.].

OBJECTIVE Representatives of some pediatric gender clinics have reported an increase in transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adolescents presenting for care who were assigned female sex at birth (AFAB) relative to those assigned male sex at birth (AMAB). These data have been used to suggest that youth come to identify as TGD because of “social cont...

In the past two years, in 25 US states, bills have been introduced to restrict access to gender-affirming medical care for minors. Some have already become law. We show how these bills, while purporting to “protect” trans youth, are really an assault on their ability, along with their parents’ and physicians’, to make healthcare choices and to rece...

Non-probability sampling methods utilize nonrandom research participant selection, which may generate study samples that are not representative of the general population. Non-probability sample studies are often regarded as inferior due to uncertainty about their generalizability and external validity. In reality, non-probability sampling offers ad...

Objective To examine associations between recalled access to gender-affirming hormones (GAH) during adolescence and mental health outcomes among transgender adults in the U.S. Methods We conducted a secondary analysis of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, a cross-sectional non-probability sample of 27,715 transgender adults in the U.S. Using multiv...

Introduction This study examines the severity of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms among sexual minorities in a large international sample and analyzes the relationship between GAD symptoms and two nation-level policies discriminating against sexual minorities: marriage inequality and criminalization of same-sex sex acts. Members of sexua...

Significance Ultraviolet (UV) exposure from the sun is the greatest risk factor for skin cancer. Toward preventive strategies, we elucidated the immune pathways critical to skin cancer development and identified specific cells and signals associated with mutated skin cell growth. UV light and Langerhans cells cooperate to induce lymphoid cells that...

Purpose Many transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth undergo a social transition in which they change their gender expression to align with their gender identity. Our objective was to examine associations between timing of social transition (during the prepubertal childhood period, adolescence, or adulthood) and adult mental health outcomes. Me...

Part 3 of this first-of-its-kind 3-part series helps show how pediatric primary care providers (PPCPs) are uniquely situated to screen, identify, and care for transgender and gender-diverse youths.

Legislation seeking to criminalize or otherwise prevent the provision of gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents is on the rise. This Viewpoint describes these laws and explains why they are harmful and potentially unlawful.

Over the past decade, the United States has made substantial progress in advancing the rights of sexual and gender minority (SGM) people. In 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision in Obergefell v. Hodges provided same-sex couples the fundamental right to marry across the United States.1 In 2020, the landmark Bostock v. Clayt...

Purpose: There is a paucity of data regarding transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people who "detransition," or go back to living as their sex assigned at birth. This study examined reasons for past detransition among TGD people in the United States. Methods: A secondary analysis was performed on data from the U.S. Transgender Survey, a cross-sec...

The following clinical scenario is a composite case that illustrates clinically important phenomena based on several patients.

Background Geosocial networking applications (GNAs) are relatively new outlets through which individuals may find partners for sexual encounters. There has been a paucity of research on the associations between use of these platforms and measures of mental health and compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD). Aim To examine associations between u...

Recent studies have estimated that approximately 1–2% of young people in the United States identify as transgender or gender diverse (TGD). Studies of prepubertal youth come primarily from gender clinic-referred populations, which have found an overrepresentation of birth-assigned males at this stage of development. Notably, it is unclear if these...

Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure is well established as the major environmental risk factor for the development of melanoma, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), and basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Additional risk factors including genetic mutations, other environmental agents, and immune status are important in modulating the effects of UVR....

Background and objectives: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues are commonly prescribed to suppress endogenous puberty for transgender adolescents. There are limited data regarding the mental health benefits of this treatment. Our objective for this study was to examine associations between access to pubertal suppression during adolescence and...

This book serves as a guide to key topics regarding pediatric gender identity to help clinicians better care for transgender and gender diverse youth. Written by experts in the field, it covers critical considerations for child health providers from a variety of disciplines in a range of clinical settings. Patients, families and other community age...

Introduction: Sending sexually explicit text messages ("sexting") is prevalent among US adults; however, the mental health correlates of this behavior among adults have not been studied adequately. Furthermore, there are few studies examining the related but distinct behavior of posting sexually explicit photos or videos of oneself online (posting...

Having grown up surrounded by homophobia, a gay resident continues to carry around fear that he’ll be judged for his sexual orientation. But some attending physicians and residents have done small things that have made him feel more at ease.

Importance Gender identity conversion efforts (GICE) have been widely debated as potentially damaging treatment approaches for transgender persons. The association of GICE with mental health outcomes, however, remains largely unknown. Objective To evaluate associations between recalled exposure to GICE (by a secular or religious professional) and...

Transgender adolescents may require for inpatient psychiatric care, and have unique healthcare needs and can face barriers to quality care. This study sought to address limited understanding of the inpatient experience of transgender adolescents. This study uses qualitative methods to gain insight into the experience of transgender adolescents and...

Objectives. To examine exposure to psychological attempts to change a person’s gender identity from transgender to cisgender (PACGI) among transgender people in the United States, lifetime and between the years 2010 and 2015, by US state. Methods. We obtained data from the 2015 US Transgender Survey, a cross-sectional nonprobability sample of 27 71...

Recently, there has been increased attention to a putative relationship between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and gender dysphoria, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) diagnosis for those whose gender assigned at birth does not match their gender identity. Studies have shown an over-representation of ASD...

In response to our Translations piece, 2 groups have written letters that include appropriate engagement with our arguments. However, they also dramatically misrepresent our original essay.

The following clinical scenarios are composite cases that illustrate clinically important phenomena based on several patients. Jamie is a 19-year-old who was assigned a female gender at birth and had a history of major depressive disorder in remission. She presented to her primary care physician, psychiatrist, and psychotherapist reporting dysphori...

Background and aims: The topic of sexting was recently publicized in the US given its widely reported behavior among active duty soldiers. To date, no studies have examined the prevalence of sexting and associated risks among military veterans. Methods: We evaluated the prevalence of sexting (sending sexually explicit text messages, images or video...

Background: Hormonal interventions for transgender adolescents have become increasingly common; however, there is a paucity of research on medical student knowledge of, and attitudes toward, these interventions following didactic instruction. Furthermore, no studies have examined whether students can be aware of the literature on the mental health...

Background: Pediatric gender identity has gained increased attention over the past several years in the popular media, political arena, and medical literature. This article reviews terminology in this evolving field, traditional models of gender identity development and their limitations, epidemiology and natural history of cross-gender identifica...

Gender Identity & Autism Spectrum Disorder

Evolving Treatment Paradigms for Transgender Youth

UV-induced mutant p53 keratinocyte clonal expansion dependence on IL22 and RORγt

Introduction: Digital social media platforms represent outlets through which individuals may find partners for sexual encounters. Using a sample of US post-deployment military veterans, the current study evaluated the prevalence of digital sex seeking with clinical correlates of psychopathology, suicidal ideation, and sexually transmitted infection...

OBJECTIVE Following an initial response of brain metastases to Gamma Knife radiosurgery, regrowth of the enhancing lesion as detected on MRI may represent either radiation necrosis (a treatment-related inflammatory change) or recurrent tumor. Differentiation of radiation necrosis from tumor is vital for management decision making but remains diffic...

HMG domain transcription factor, Sox2, is a critical gene for the development of cochlear hair cells, the receptor cells for hearing, but this has been ascribed to expansion of the progenitors that become hair cells. Here, we show that Sox2 activated Atoh1, a transcription factor important for hair cell differentiation, through an interaction with...