Epidemiology of gender dysphoria and

transgender identity
Kenneth J Zucker

 PMID: 28838353
 DOI: 10.1071/SH17067

Abstract
This review provides an update on the epidemiology of gender dysphoria and transgender
identity in children, adolescents and adults. Although the prevalence of gender dysphoria, as it is
operationalised in the fifth edtion of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM-5), remains a relatively 'rare' or 'uncommon' diagnosis, there is evidence that it has
increased in the past couple of decades, perhaps reflected in the large increase in referral rates to
specialised gender identity clinics. In childhood, the sex ratio continues to favour birth-assigned
males, but in adolescents, there has been a recent inversion in the sex ratio from one favouring
birth-assigned males to one favouring birth-assigned females. In both adolescents and adults,
patterns of sexual orientation vary as a function of birth-assigned sex. Recent studies suggest that
the prevalence of a self-reported transgender identity in children, adolescents and adults ranges
from 0.5 to 1.3%, markedly higher than prevalence rates based on clinic-referred samples of
adults. The stability of a self-reported transgender identity or a gender identity that departs from
the traditional male-female binary among non-clinic-based populations remains unknown and
requires further study.

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Publication types
 Review
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MeSH terms
 Adolescent
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 Adult
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 Child
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 Female
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 Gender Dysphoria / epidemiology*
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 Gender Dysphoria / psychology
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  Gender Identity
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 Health Services for Transgender Persons*
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 Humans
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 Male
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 Prevalence
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 Self Report
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