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Gender dysphoria diagnoses in children up fiftyfold in a decade - but numbers remain low

Researchers say that while GPs rarely deal with gender dysphoria among children, cases have increased since 2010

Bryony Gooch
Friday 24 January 2025 04:54 EST
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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 (Picture posed by model/Alamy/PA) (PA/Alamy)

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The amount of children with a gender dysphoria diagnosis in England has risen fiftyfold over the last decade, although numbers remain low, research has found.

The study, which appeared in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, showed the prevalence of gender dysphoria increased from about one in 60,000 in 2010, equating to 192 children and young people nationally, to about one in 1,200 in 2021 - or 10,291 nationally.

From 2015, there was a quick rise in prevalence among children recorded as female on their health records, which ended up about twice as high as for those recorded male by 2021.

Co-author of the study, University of York Professor Tim Doran, said: “[It’s] still really uncommon, but obviously much, much, much more common than it used to be 10 years ago,” as he said the prevalence among 17 and 18-year-olds was about one in 238 by 2021.

Researchers found that prevalence and incidence rose with children’s age, although there was no link to the level of deprivation in their area, which surprised the researchers.

“If you look at adults with gender dysphoria, or who have transitioned, there’s a steep social gradient,” Doran said, adding that more deprived populations tended to be overrepresented.

While the team found no link to deprivation, they did examine the prevalence of anxiety, depression and self-harm in children with gender dysphoria and found that they were on par with, or exceeded, levels for those with autism or eating disorders.

Over the entire 10-year period, less than five per cent of children with a gender dysphoria diagnosis from the GP had a record of prescription for puberty blockers, while eight per cent had a record of prescription for masculinising or feminising hormones.

Professor Doran said that while the research presents a “rapid increase”, gender dysphoria remained uncommon among children: “most practices will have zero, one or two children, with gender dysphoria on their books. They’re not seeing this very often.”

Researchers examined data relating to young people aged 18 and under attending GP practices in England between 2011 and 2021, encompassing 3,782 individuals with gender dysphoria or similar diagnoses.

The results were based on about 20 per cent of GP practices to show both the number of new cases each year and how prevalent the diagnoses were over the decade.

The study was completed by the team that carried out research informing the Cass Review, which led to a UK ban on puberty blockers and the closure of the Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock Clinic.

It comes as work by a different team, published in the same journal, found it was impossible to conclusively determine from evidence if puberty blockers and gender hormone therapy helped or harmed children.

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