Archives of Disease in Childhood, a BMJ journal, published Intellectual conflicts of interest and the ongoing controversy on guidelines regarding gender-affirming care online on 18 September 2026. The paper’s phrase “gender-affirming care” means puberty blockers and opposite-sex hormones for children and adolescents with gender dysphoria.
The author is Dr. Richard Santen, Internal Medicine, University of Virginia School of Medicine. His competing-interests statement identifies him as a past president of the Endocrine Society.
The article addresses intellectual conflicts of interest in those clinical guidelines, including how a weak evidence base is filled by conflicted “expert opinion.”
Primary source. Archives of Disease in Childhood (BMJ). DOI 10.1136/archdischild-2025-328741. PubMed 42759992.