Number of Children Who Think They are Wrong Sex Surges 50-Fold

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Number of Children Who Think They are Wrong Sex Surges 50-Fold​

BY WILL JONES

24 JANUARY 2025 11:10 AM



There has been a 50-fold rise in children in England who think they are the wrong sex in just 10 years, with two thirds of them girls, analysis of GP records suggests. The Telegraph has more.

Analysis of GP records suggests there were 10,000 diagnoses of gender dysphoria in England in 2021 – up from fewer than 200 cases in 2011.

The University of York study shows a sharp rise in the number of girls with such concerns, with twice as many cases as in boys.

More than half of those with a gender dysphoria diagnosis had anxiety or depression or had self-harmed, the research published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood found.

The study is the first to give a detailed picture of the scale of gender distress across the country.

Until now, most research has been based on small numbers going to specialist services, whereas this study is based on a large sample of GP records.

It follows the landmark Cass review, which warned that children who think they are transgender should not be rushed into treatment they may regret, and recommended the banning of puberty blockers for under 18s.

Researchers drew on anonymised electronic health records between 2011 and 2021 for those general practices in England contributing to the Clinical Practice Research Datalink database.

During this period, 3,782 children and young people up to the age of 18 had a diagnosis of gender dysphoria documented in their medical record.

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 in this age group.

If this pattern were repeated nationally, it would mean more than 10,000 people aged 18 and under had a diagnosis of gender dysphoria in 2021, equivalent to one in 1,200.

This compares with fewer than 200 cases in 2011, equivalent to one in 60,000