Gender referrals increased sharply after 2010, accompanied by higher psychiatric comorbidity and a marked rise in adolescent cases, particularly among females.

Finnish registry data show a sharp increase in gender-referred adolescents after 2010, with a strong shift toward biological females. Overall, 77% of biological females sought medical interventions to masculinise their bodies, while 23% of biological males sought medical interventions to feminise their bodies.

The proportion with prior specialist psychiatric treatment doubled from 23.7% (1996–2010) to 47.9% (2011–2019). This rise in severe mental health problems was not observed in the general population control group.

Ruuska, S.-M., Tuisku, K., Holttinen, T., and Kaltiala, R. (2026). “Psychiatric Morbidity Among Adolescents and Young Adults Who Contacted Specialised Gender Identity Services in Finland in 1996–2019: A Register Study,” Acta Paediatrica: 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.70533.