Gender dysphoria diagnoses rose in nearly every U.S. state between 2018 and 2022, per a new Definitive Healthcare report.
- They fell only in South Dakota, which last year became the sixth state to restrict gender-affirming care for minors.
Be smart: Gender dysphoria is a form of psychological distress felt by people who believe their assigned sex fails to match their gender identity.
- Not all transgender people experience or are diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
- But such a diagnosis is often a first step when seeking gender-related mental health care or gender-affirming care, in order to access treatment and activate insurance coverage.
- However, not all those who want such care have the means to travel.
- Research shows that access to gender-affirming care can decrease rates of depression and suicide, while transgender advocates say that promotion of gender-affirming care bans can fuel discrimination and hate crimes.
- While South Dakota's ban wasn't enacted until 2023, lawmakers there attempted to pass a similar law back in 2020 — which likely had "the dual chilling effects of reduced access to sympathetic providers and the self-directed seeking of care in states where long-term access was protected," per Definitive Healthcare's report.
What's happening: It appears that young Americans are increasingly open to seeking gender-affirming care.
- The share of gender dysphoria diagnoses among patients under 18 increased from 17.5% to 20.4% between 2018 and 2022 — perhaps a reflection of trans identities and gender identity ideas becoming "more accepted by society," as the report put it.
The bottom line: While gender dysphoria diagnoses are generally increasing, receiving one is only an early step on many transgender Americans' physical and mental health care journeys.
- What comes next continues to depend heavily on where they live and what resources are available to them.
