Jovanna Dahlgren is a Swedish pediatric endocrinologist and anti-transgender activist. Dahlgren was announced as a speaker at a 2025 conference by anti-trans hate group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine. Dahlgren’s presentation was titled “Known Unknowns: Anticipating Long-Term Risks of Cross-Sex Hormones in a Young Patient Population.”
Background
Dahlgren established one of Sweden’s three units that assess children with gender-related distress. As we have seen throughout history, conservative clinicians have outsize influence on the kinds of care provided in a country.
Anti-trans activism
In a 2024 opinion piece, Dahlgren opposed reducing the age for legal gender assignment in Sweden, citing the book Ă…nger: ett reportage inifrĂĄn transvĂĄrden [Regret: a report from inside trans care] by Carolina Jemsby and Karin Mattisson.
The Riksdag is about to pass a new law that lowers the age for legal gender reassignment. In an unusual move, several parties have bypassed the usual consultation process to lower the age for legal gender reassignment to 16, without requiring a formal diagnosis.
If you think this is good, you haven’t read the reportage book “Regret: a report from inside trans care”. This describes what we in healthcare haven’t really wanted to acknowledge – that it’s not just a few young patients who regret their gender change, but many who have suffered damage that will follow them for the rest of their lives.
In April 2025, the UK Health Secretary began “actively reviewing” restricting or banning hormones used for trans healthcare in minors. Two reports led to this development: Finland’s Riittakerttu Kaltiala and Sweden’s Jovanna Dahlgren. According to an article by anti-trans author Hannah Barnes, Dahlgren’s report led to this change in policy:
Seemingly most relevant to Wes Streeting’s decision-making, is the outlined additional danger of starting hormone treatments while still in childhood. “If the treatment is started in young years, many years with daily treatment with cross sex hormones will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease… and stroke… [and] can decrease fertility, impair liver function and increase the risk of cancer in both genders,” hormone expert Dahlgren wrote. She also noted the lack of long-term data: “The consequences of prescribing cross sex hormones in individuals under the age of 18 years are that the body and the brain are permanently marked/changed with both known and more unforeseen consequences.”
Coverage in anti-trans press
Barnes, Hannah (May 27, 2025). Exclusive: Why Wes Streeting changed his mind on cross-sex hormones. The New Statesman https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2025/05/exclusive-why-wes-streeting-changed-his-mind-on-cross-sex-hormones
Selected writing by Dahlgren
Dahlgren, Jovanna (April 6, 2024). Förslaget som underlättar för unga att byta kön vilar inte på vetenskap. [The proposal that makes it easier for young people to change gender is not based on science]. Göteborgs-Posten https://www.gp.se/debatt/forslaget-som-underlattar-for-unga-att-byta-kon-vilar-inte-pa-vetenskap.9ebf5318-47b6-438c-9e34-93235d20bc3e
Resources
University of Gothenburg (gu.se)
- Jovanna Dahlgren
- gu.se/en/about/find-staff/jovannadahlgren