Gender dysphoria more prevalent in younger adults
31 Aug 2022
Gender dysphoria (GD) appears to be more common than previously estimated by clinic-based studies, according to the results of a population-based internet survey in Japan. In addition, GD more frequently correlates with age than with gender.
“Several studies have attempted to estimate the prevalence of GD from a general population sample. However, no previous studies used reliable questionnaires,” the researchers said.
In this cross-sectional observational study, the researchers used the Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale (UGDS) to estimate GD prevalence in Japan by age and gender among 20,000 respondents between the ages of 20 and 69 years, who were registered with an internet research company.
The study had two parts: First, participants self-identified their gender using two 5-point Likert scales. Second, eligible participants completed the UGDS. Self-identified gender and GD were defined as follows: ambivalent gender (equally feeling like the birth gender and another gender), incongruent gender (a stronger sense of the latter vs the former), narrow GD (incongruent gender + UGDS score ≥41), and broad GD (ambivalent or incongruent gender + UGDS score ≥41).
The age-adjusted proportion of participants that were classified as male (n=7,827) and female (n=8,903) at birth were 6.0 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively, for ambivalent gender, and 0.93 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively, for incongruent gender.
Additionally, the age-adjusted prevalence of GD was 0.27 percent (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.18‒0.42) and 0.35 percent (95 percent CI, 0.25‒0.50) for narrow GD, and 0.87 percent (95 percent CI, 0.69‒1.1) and 1.1 percent (95 percent CI, 0.86‒1.3) for broad GD, respectively.
Except for broad GD in respondents in their 50s, no significant gender differences were observed within age groups (p=0.016). However, there were significant differences seen between age groups for both genders: GD was more prevalent in younger vs older respondents, except for broad GD in respondents classified as female at birth (p=0.063).
“Clinicians should be aware that the prevalence of GD is not negligible and that it varies with age,” the researchers said. “GD should be assessed in detail from various perspectives in addition to self-identified gender.”