The mean age of gender dysphoria diagnosis is decreasing

ObjectivesThe epidemiology of gender dysphoria (GD) has dramatically changed in recent years. GD was traditionally believed to be a rare condition predominant in the natal male. However, recent studies showed an upward trend in the natal female with a dramatic reversed natal male-to-female ratio. Debates on the increasing number of late-onset GD with a natal female predominance have been initiated. However, current studies are either controversial or limited by a small sample size.MethodsWe collected data during 2017 to 2022 from TriNetX Research Network which provided de-identified electronic medical records from approximately 66 million patients from 49 healthcare organizations mostly in the United States. The studied subjects were defined as patients ages 4 to 65 years with a diagnosis of GD (ICD-10: F64); the studied population was defined by all the patients ages 4 to 65 recorded in the database by applying all ICD-10 codes, visit codes, procedure codes, and medication codes. In addition to reporting the estimated prevalence of GD, we performed logistic regression models of GD to examine the interaction between age and assigned sex at birth.ResultsApproximately 42 million patients were identified through TriNetX as the studied population; 66,078 GD patients were identified with a natal female predominant pattern. The mean age of GD diagnosis decreased from 31.49 (SD 12.40) in 2017 to 26.27 (SD 11.03) in 2021. The correlation between age and GD varied by sex ([female*age] OR: 0.932; 95% CI, 0.981-0.983; p < .001). The peak age of GD was 19 years (mean age: 27.47; SD 11.79) in natal females, and 23 years (mean age: 30.47; SD 12.44) in natal males (p = .0148).ConclusionsGD has significantly increased in the last 5 years, suggesting a trend toward an era of open discussion on gender diversity and the need to expand gender clinic services.SEX, EPI, DEI ObjectivesThe epidemiology of gender dysphoria (GD) has dramatically changed in recent years. GD was traditionally believed to be a rare condition predominant in the natal male. However, recent studies showed an upward trend in the natal female with a dramatic reversed natal male-to-female ratio. Debates on the increasing number of late-onset GD with a natal female predominance have been initiated. However, current studies are either controversial or limited by a small sample size. The epidemiology of gender dysphoria (GD) has dramatically changed in recent years. GD was traditionally believed to be a rare condition predominant in the natal male. However, recent studies showed an upward trend in the natal female with a dramatic reversed natal male-to-female ratio. Debates on the increasing number of late-onset GD with a natal female predominance have been initiated. However, current studies are either controversial or limited by a small sample size. MethodsWe collected data during 2017 to 2022 from TriNetX Research Network which provided de-identified electronic medical records from approximately 66 million patients from 49 healthcare organizations mostly in the United States. The studied subjects were defined as patients ages 4 to 65 years with a diagnosis of GD (ICD-10: F64); the studied population was defined by all the patients ages 4 to 65 recorded in the database by applying all ICD-10 codes, visit codes, procedure codes, and medication codes. In addition to reporting the estimated prevalence of GD, we performed logistic regression models of GD to examine the interaction between age and assigned sex at birth. We collected data during 2017 to 2022 from TriNetX Research Network which provided de-identified electronic medical records from approximately 66 million patients from 49 healthcare organizations mostly in the United States. The studied subjects were defined as patients ages 4 to 65 years with a diagnosis of GD (ICD-10: F64); the studied population was defined by all the patients ages 4 to 65 recorded in the database by applying all ICD-10 codes, visit codes, procedure codes, and medication codes. In addition to reporting the estimated prevalence of GD, we performed logistic regression models of GD to examine the interaction between age and assigned sex at birth. ResultsApproximately 42 million patients were identified through TriNetX as the studied population; 66,078 GD patients were identified with a natal female predominant pattern. The mean age of GD diagnosis decreased from 31.49 (SD 12.40) in 2017 to 26.27 (SD 11.03) in 2021. The correlation between age and GD varied by sex ([female*age] OR: 0.932; 95% CI, 0.981-0.983; p < .001). The peak age of GD was 19 years (mean age: 27.47; SD 11.79) in natal females, and 23 years (mean age: 30.47; SD 12.44) in natal males (p = .0148). Approximately 42 million patients were identified through TriNetX as the studied population; 66,078 GD patients were identified with a natal female predominant pattern. The mean age of GD diagnosis decreased from 31.49 (SD 12.40) in 2017 to 26.27 (SD 11.03) in 2021. The correlation between age and GD varied by sex ([female*age] OR: 0.932; 95% CI, 0.981-0.983; p < .001). The peak age of GD was 19 years (mean age: 27.47; SD 11.79) in natal females, and 23 years (mean age: 30.47; SD 12.44) in natal males (p = .0148). ConclusionsGD has significantly increased in the last 5 years, suggesting a trend toward an era of open discussion on gender diversity and the need to expand gender clinic services.SEX, EPI, DEI GD has significantly increased in the last 5 years, suggesting a trend toward an era of open discussion on gender diversity and the need to expand gender clinic services.