The report found that twice as many children and teens are being diagnosed with gender dysphoria than before the pandemic.
Analysts at LexisNexis, which tracks 300 million patients, found that the number of insurance claims for gender identity care for people under the age of 18 jumped 133% from 2019 to 2023.
This is just one example of a wider and growing problem in children’s mental health.
Claims for care During the same period, eating disorder cases jumped 108 percent, while anxiety-related claims increased 61 percent.
Overall, the report found that claims for all mental health care for people under the age of 18 soared 83 percent during the study period.
Above are mental health care claims figures from LexisNexis, who analyzed data from over 300 million patients.
There has been a sharp rise in the number of young people reporting gender dysphoria, a condition in which the person’s identified gender does not match their biological sex.
Many experts attribute the rise in gender dysphoria cases to greater acceptance of the condition and increased willingness to seek treatment.
However, there are concerns that the minds of impressionable children may be easily swayed by social trends.
Much of the increase has also been recorded during the coronavirus pandemic, with commentators suggesting that the isolation of lockdowns and increased online social interaction may have led to children feeling introspective and questioning their gender identity.
The report was compiled by LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a New York City-based data company that tracks billions of insurance claims made in the United States each year.
The company’s claims of gender identity care could have included counseling sessions and appointments to get prescriptions for gender reassignment treatment.
There is no publicly available data showing the number of gender identity allegations filed by year for people under the age of 18.
But the report echoes similar studies that have noted a surge in transgender care.
Above we see insurance claims by year for diagnoses of gender dysphoria (being a person with a gender different from the one assigned at birth), which has also doubled since 2017.
Surgery rates increased most dramatically in 2021 across all age groups.
One study published in 2022 found that the number of “top” surgeries, such as mastectomies, performed on children under the age of 18 has increased 13-fold since 2013, while a second study by a data analytics company reported that gender dysphoria rates increased by up to 274% between 2018 and 2022 in some states.
It is estimated that around 300,000 children between the ages of 13 and 17 suffer from gender dysphoria, meaning they feel their biological sex does not match their gender identity.
This figure is more than double the number found in 2017 by the same research group at the University of California, Los Angeles, who found 149,000 children to be transgender.
States have also recorded a sharp increase in cases of gender dysphoria among children, with every state except South Dakota reporting an increase from 2018 to 2022.
The biggest increases were in Virginia and Indiana, where the number of young people reporting their gender did not match the sex they were assigned at birth increased by more than 200%.
Gender dysphoria is diagnosed through an interview with a mental health professional, who may prescribe treatment.
These include counselling and taking treatments such as puberty suppressants or feminising or masculinising hormones.
Gender reassignment surgery may also be offered to align a person’s body more closely with their gender identity.
“It’s a very personal thing,” said Dr. Abbie Jo Schrage, an Idaho-based psychotherapist who works with transgender children. Fox News This increase is likely due to increased awareness.
“The first is the simple fact of awareness of gender identity issues,” she told the magazine.
“Through countless apps and websites, young people now have new and ongoing access to information and language on issues like gender identity.”
She adds: “Another factor is the growing cultural and social acceptance of expressions of gender identity.”
