The National Board of Health and Welfare has mapped out how the number of people diagnosed with gender dysphoria has developed. The authority notes that the increase seen over the past ten years is mainly applicable to children and young adults, and in particular among those registered as girls at birth.

This has, among other things, Assignment Review noted earlier.

The number of new cases of diagnosed gender dysphoria among girls between the ages of 13 and 17 has increased by almost 1,500 percent since 2008.

But even in other age groups, both among children and young adults, boys as girls, young men and young women, the increase is marked.

Unclear why

Among young men between the ages of 18 and 24, the number of people diagnosed increased by 400 percent.

"Yes, that the increase is clear, there is no doubt, however, we do not know what the increase is due," said Peter Salmi, investigator at the National Board of Health, in a press release.

It is common to have several psychiatric diagnoses in people with gender dysphoria, such as autism, depression and anxiety disorders.

The survey shows that people with gender dysphoria are at higher risk of dying in suicide than the general population. But people with other psychiatric diagnoses are at even higher risk of suicide.

"People with gender dysphoria who committed suicide also had very high incidence of concurrent severe psychiatric diagnoses, making it difficult to distinguish one from the other in terms of suicide risk," says Peter Salmi.

Great suffering

People with gender dysphoria, such as transsexualism, do not identify with the gender they were registered with at birth. This can cause great suffering for the individual, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare.

In 2018, there were a total of almost 6,000 people, 6 per thousand of the population, who had any gender dysphoria diagnosis in Sweden. The number is expected to increase in the coming years as more and more people seek help and are being investigated for gender dysphoria.