Jan. 24 (UPI) — The prevalence of gender dysphoria, generally described as psychological distress caused by a mismatch between birth sex and gender identity, likely rose 50-fold among children during a 10-year span, British researchers said Friday.
The sharp rise in such cases was noted by investigators who analyzed primary care data in England and Wales between 2011 and 2021 and published their study online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Analysis of the data showed that, between 2011 and 2021, incidence rates of recorded gender dysphoria rose from 0.14 per 10,000 to 4.4 per 10,000 person years among children under age 18, while the overall prevalence rose from 0.16 per 10,000 person years in 2011 to 8.3 per 10,000 in 2021.
If this pattern were repeated nationally, it would mean more than 10,000 English and Welsh children had a diagnosis of gender dysphoria in 2021, equivalent to 1 in 1,200, compared with under 200 cases in 2011, equivalent to 1 in 60,000 — a 50-fold increase.
The researchers also found that from 2015 to 2021, the numbers of cases rose more rapidly among females than those recorded as male by their family doctors, and were around twice as high by 2021.
The findings marked the first time that a study of gender dysphoria was based on primary care records rather than among the small numbers patients attending specialist services.
While the overall numbers of children reporting gender dysphoria remained relatively low at fewer than 1 in 200 17-to-18-year-olds, a second and concurrent study determined that their levels of anxiety, depression, and self harm are high and that accessing timely care is difficult for them.
“Levels of observed anxiety and depression have been increasing in children and young people in general over the last two decades for complex and contested reasons, challenging health, education and social services, and those experiencing gender dysphoria/incongruence are at particular risk,” note the researchers.
The situation has resulted in “an urgent need to tackle vulnerability to mental health difficulties and improve mental health support for children and young people experiencing gender dysphoria/ incongruence,” they added. “Primary care services require support and guidance to ensure effective coordination of care for children and young people with multiple complex needs.”
The report was published six weeks after Britain indefinitely banned the use of puberty blocker medication by minors following a landmark report known as the Cass Review published in April that cited evidence supporting the safety of the medical practice was “remarkably weak” and that more research was needed.
The study published Friday was commissioned and funded by Britain’s National Health Service to inform the Cass Review’s examination of gender identity services for children and young people.