Gender dysphoria | |
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Synonyms | Gender identity disorder |
Classification and external resources | |
Specialty | psychiatry |
ICD-10 | F64.9, F64.8 |
ICD-9-CM | 302.85 |
MedlinePlus | 001527 |
MeSH | D000068116 |
Gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder (GID) is the dysphoria (distress) a person experiences as a result of the sex and gender they were assigned at birth. In these cases, the assigned sex and gender do not match the person's gender identity, and the person is transgender. There is evidence suggesting that twins who identify with a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth may do so not only due to psychological or behavioral causes, but also biological ones related to their genetics or exposure to hormones before birth.
Estimates of the prevalence of those with a transgender identity range from a lower bound of 1:2000 (or about 0.05%) in the Netherlands and Belgium to 0.5% of Massachusetts adults to 1.2% of New Zealand high-school students. These numbers are based on those who identify as transgender. It is estimated that about 0.005% to 0.014% of people assigned male at birth and 0.002% to 0.003% of people assigned female at birth would be diagnosed with gender dysphoria, based on 2013 diagnostic criteria. Research indicates people who transition in adulthood are up to three times more likely to be male assigned at birth, but that among people transitioning in childhood the sex ratio is close to 1:1.
Gender dysphoria is classified as a disorder under dual role transvestism in the 2017 ICD-10 CM. GID was reclassified to gender dysphoria by the DSM-5. Some transgender people and researchers support declassification of GID because they say the diagnosis pathologizes gender variance, reinforces the binary model of gender, and can result in stigmatization of transgender individuals. The official reclassification as gender dysphoria in the DSM-5 may help resolve some of these issues, because the term gender dysphoria applies only to the discontent experienced by some persons resulting from gender identity issues. The American Psychiatric Association, publisher of the DSM-5, states that "gender nonconformity is not in itself a mental disorder. The critical element of gender dysphoria is the presence of clinically significant distress associated with the condition."