Study: Depression Rates Have Doubled Among Transgender Americans

Rates of mental distress and depression have more than doubled in transgender Americans since 2014, federal health data shows. Harvard Medical School researchers noted that “a record number of enacted laws has threatened the rights and protections” of transgender individuals over this period. Michael Liu and his team tracked survey data from the ongoing Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to come to this conclusion. 2014 was the first year gender identity was added to the survey. Mental distress rose from 18.8% to 38.9% in 2022 among transgender people. Depression rose from 19.7% to 51.3% among this group. 15.5% of cis people reported mental distress in 2022, and 21.1% reported experiencing depression. (UPI)