Average age of gender dysphoria diagnosis has fallen from 31 to 26, study finds

Over 66,000 of 42,720,215 people identified with this diagnosis over five-year period of research

The average age of gender dysphoria diagnosis has fallen from 31 to 26 in recent years and is lower for those whose biological sex at birth is female, according to new research (Picture posed by model/Alamy/PA)

The average age of gender dysphoria diagnosis has fallen from 31 to 26 in recent years and is lower for those whose biological sex at birth is female, according to new research.

US academics said their findings suggest an estimated prevalence of 155 people per 100,000 with a diagnosis between 2017 and 2021 – equivalent to around 0.16% of people.

Gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder is described by the NHS as a sense of unease that a person might have because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity.

A paper, published in the open access journal General Psychiatry and focused on mainly US patients, noted that “questions have been raised concerning the increasing number of youth who seek professional care for GD (gender dysphoria), especially adolescent AFABs (assigned females at birth)”.

The researchers, from the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, said current studies on gender dysphoria are “significantly limited by small sample sizes, short follow-up periods, or out-of-date data sets” and they wanted to “uniquely illustrate an updated epidemiological trend by providing an estimated prevalence of GD and explore how sex assigned at birth and age influence GD”.

They used electronic medical records from almost 43 million patients aged between four and 65 from 49 healthcare organisations mainly in the US for their study.

They found that 66,078 of the 42,720,215 people were identified with gender dysphoria, leading them to reach an estimate of 155 per 100,000 people for the five-year period and say “the estimated prevalence of GD diagnosis increased significantly”.

Lead author Dr Ching-Fang Sun said: “Year-over-year, the data reflected a general increase in the prevalence of diagnosis, most notably during adolescence and young adulthood.”

The average age of gender dysphoria diagnosis fell from 31 in 2017 to 26 in 2021.

The average age for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria was 27 for people whose biological sex at birth was female and 30 for those whose biological sex at birth was male.

The estimated prevalence of gender dysphoria among those with female sex at birth rose sharply at the age of 11, peaked between the ages of 17 and 19, and then fell below that of those of male sex at birth by the age of 22, the researchers said.

The decreased mean age of GD (gender dysphoria) suggests less oppression of gender minority youth and increased awareness of gender diversity

Researchers

For those whose biological sex is male at birth, the estimated prevalence of gender dysphoria started to increase at the age of 13, peaked at the age of 23, and then gradually decreased, the researchers said.

Their paper said a rising number of patients with gender dysphoria could be down to “increased availability of speciality gender clinics” and the lower age at diagnosis “suggests an increasing gender non-congruent youth population”.

They said: “The phenomenon might be related to increased accessibility of gender care as well as a gender-minority-friendly social context.

“Gender identity development heavily leans on social processes, including exploration and experimentation with external feedback. There is now increasing acceptance of gender-neutral pronouns and gender-non-congruent chosen names.

“Gender minority youth are no longer receiving consistent toxic feedback regarding their identity. Additionally, digital platforms such as video games provide a ‘transitional playground’ that allows youth to explore their identity with more freedom and less worry compared with traditional social situations.

“The concept of gender is a cultural construct rather than a genetic fact. The decreased mean age of GD suggests less oppression of gender minority youth and increased awareness of gender diversity.”

New gender clinics are due to open in England later this year after an announcement in July 2022 that London’s Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) clinic would close following concerns around a rise in demand, long waiting times for assessments and “significant external scrutiny” around its approach and capacity.

This month, the NHS confirmed puberty blockers will not routinely be offered to children treated at the new regional gender identity clinics, and the health service here has previously acknowledged a “lack of clinical consensus and polarised opinion on what the best model of care for children and young people experiencing gender incongruence and dysphoria should be”.