Health
Gender dysphoria and eating disorders have skyrocketed since pandemic, report reveals: ‘Ripple effects’
Mental health diagnoses in children have skyrocketed since the COVID pandemic — led by gender dysphoria and eating disorders, according to a new report.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions analyzed medical claims data submitted between 2019 and 2023 for patients under age 18.
Overall, mental health claims rose 83% among young people in that time frame.
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By comparison, gender identity-related diagnoses spiked 133% and eating disorders rose 108%.
Phobic disorders also increased by 77%, as did claims for developmental disorders.
Mental health diagnoses in children have skyrocketed since the pandemic — led by gender dysphoria and eating disorders, according to a new report. (iStock)
“Americans are in the midst of a mental health crisis, which lingered well before and was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the researchers wrote in the report.
“The initial trauma and continued ripple effects from the pandemic are still negatively impacting Americans’ mental health, particularly teens and young adults.”
Why the spike in gender dysphoria?
Multiple factors have led to the sharp uptick in gender dysphoria, according to Abbey Jo Schrage, a licensed psychotherapist who runs her own practice in Idaho and provides virtual mental health services.
“The first is the simple fact of awareness of gender identity issues,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Youth have newfound, and constant, access to information and language regarding issues such as gender identity via countless apps and websites.”
She added, “Another factor is the increasing cultural and social acceptance of expressions regarding gender identity.”
One licensed clinical social worker attributes the spike in cases to three factors: awareness, normalization and increased acceptance. (iStock)
Jonathan Levine, a licensed clinical social worker who works with Equip in Pennsylvania, attributes the spike in cases to three factors: awareness, normalization and increased acceptance.
“As it has become more normal to explore gender as a construct in society, people have become more comfortable exploring their own gender as individuals,” he told Fox News Digital.
“The initial trauma and continued ripple effects from the pandemic are still negatively impacting Americans’ mental health, particularly teens and young adults.”
“Kids and adolescents naturally have a curiosity about themselves, and so much of childhood is exploring who you are and your values … It’s natural for young adults to be curious about their own identity, and it’s safer for the youth to explore their own than it has been in the past.”
Parents and communities can support children by listening to them without judgment or arguing, according to Schrage.
A supportive family can be life-saving for young people with gender dysphoria, an expert told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
They should also “appropriately filter content” for their children’s age level, she added.
“What a child is exposed to must be developmentally appropriate and not usher in premature confusion,” Schrage warned.
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Adam Mariano, a Philadelphia-based president and general manager of health care for LexisNexis Risk Solutions, suggests providing “safe spaces” for youth to engage, ask questions and share information.
“Providing clear, age-appropriate information and context will ensure that children are not isolated and made to feel fearful,” he told Fox News Digital.
Mental health claims among children rose 83% between 2019 and 2023. (iStock)
A supportive family can be life-saving for youth with gender dysphoria, according to Levine.
“A strong and affirming family support system has been demonstrated to decrease suicidality in TGE youth by up to 82% and suicide attempts from 57% to 4%,” he said.
Why the spike in eating disorders?
Exposure to “idealized and altered bodies” alongside methods of achieving these unrealistic physical features is at an all-time high, Schrage noted.
“Many of my youth patients report spending between four and six hours per day of scrolling and comparing themselves to others each day,” she told Fox News Digital.
There was a sharp increase in eating disorders during the pandemic, according to Levine.
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“While there is no one reason why people develop an eating disorder, a common theme for many is a desire to feel control,” he said.
“The pandemic made so many people feel alone, isolated and unable to control their surroundings, all of which led to a ton of mental health woes, eating disorders included.”
Social media also plays a role in normalizing one type of body for all people, Levine noted.
Social media plays a role in normalizing one type of body for all people, according to mental health experts. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
“The constant onslaught of messaging around beauty standards, body ideals, diet culture and a chaotic world are all factors that contribute to an increase in eating disorders among youth.”
To help young people who are struggling with eating disorders, Schrage said parents and the community should set appropriate limits on time and exposure to unrealistic images and media.
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“Parents should also prioritize meals together, model healthy eating behaviors and verbalize their own sense of self,” she advised.
“Furthermore, giving their children feedback on internal qualities — such as their character and personality — more than outward physical and performance markers helps them develop a balanced, realistic sense of self.”
Parents and communities can support children by listening to them without judgment or arguing, according to one expert. (iStock)
Parents and family members should also watch out for warning signs, Levine said, such as increased exercise, dieting, avoidance of certain food groups and an increased focus on body image.
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“Normalize an ‘all foods fit’ dietary lifestyle, where every food is safe to eat, and there are no such things as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods,” he advised.
“Focusing on supporting youth in creating an expansive life that is bigger than what their body looks like is important.”
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A new study suggests that middle-aged men may be more vulnerable to faster biological aging, potentially linked to exposure to “forever chemicals.”
The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging, examined how perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, could impact aging at the cellular level.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals commonly used in nonstick cookware, food packaging, water-resistant fabrics and other consumer products, the study noted.
Their chemical structure makes them highly resistant to breaking down, allowing them to accumulate in water, soil and the human body.
Chinese researchers analyzed blood samples from 326 adults enrolled in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2000.
A new study suggests that middle-aged men could face accelerated biological aging at the cellular level due to exposure to PFAS. (iStock)
The researchers measured levels of 11 PFAS compounds in participants’ blood and used DNA-based “epigenetic clocks” — tools that analyze chemical changes to DNA to estimate biological age — to determine how quickly their bodies were aging at the cellular level, the study stated.
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Two compounds, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA), were detected in 95% of participants.
Higher concentrations of those chemicals were associated with faster biological aging in men of certain age groups, but not in women.
“People should not panic.”
The compounds most strongly linked to accelerated aging were not the PFAS chemicals that typically receive the most public attention, the researchers noted.
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“The associations were strongest in adults aged 50 to 64, particularly in men,” Dr. Xiangwei Li, professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the study’s corresponding author, told Fox News Digital.
“While this does not establish that PFAS cause aging, it suggests that these widely present ‘forever chemicals’ may be linked to molecular changes related to long-term health and aging.”
The study found that two of the compounds were detected in 95% of participants, and higher levels were linked to faster biological aging in men ages 50–64. (iStock)
Midlife may represent a more sensitive biological period, when the body becomes more vulnerable to age-related stressors, according to the researchers.
Lifestyle factors, such as smoking, may influence biological aging markers, potentially increasing vulnerability to environmental pollutants.
While Li said “people should not panic,” she does recommend looking for reasonable ways to reduce exposure.
That might mean checking local drinking water reports, using certified water filters designed to reduce PFAS, and limiting the use of stain- or grease-resistant products when alternatives are available.
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Meaningful reductions in PFAS exposure will likely depend on broader regulatory action and environmental cleanup efforts, Li added.
The researchers noted that midlife could be a particularly sensitive stage, when the body is more susceptible to stressors associated with aging. (iStock)
Study limitations
The researchers outlined several important limitations of the research, including that the findings show an association, but do not prove that PFAS directly causes accelerated aging.
“The study is cross-sectional, meaning exposure and aging markers were measured at the same time, so we cannot determine causality,” Li told Fox News Digital.
The study was also relatively small, limited to 326 adults age 50 or older, which means the findings may not apply to younger people or broader populations.
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Researchers measured PFAS levels using data collected between 1999 and 2000, and today’s exposure patterns may differ.
Li added that while PFAS is known to persist in the environment and the body, these results should be validated through larger, more recent studies that follow participants over time.
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A drug that has long been used to treat seizures has shown promise as a potential means of Alzheimer’s prevention, a new study suggests.
The anti-seizure medication, levetiracetam, was first approved by the FDA in November 1999 under the brand name Keppra as a therapy for partial-onset seizures in adults. The approval has since expanded to include children and other types of seizures.
Northwestern University researchers recently found that levetiracetam prevented the formation of toxic amyloid beta peptides, which are small protein fragments in the brain that are commonly seen in Alzheimer’s patients.
The medication was found to prevent the formation of amyloid-beta 42 in both animal models and cultured human neurons, according to the study findings, which were published in Science Translational Medicine.
The effect was also seen in post-mortem human brain tissue obtained from individuals with Down syndrome, who are at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
The medication was found to prevent the formation of amyloid-beta 42 in both animal models and cultured human neurons. (iStock)
“While many of the Alzheimer’s drugs currently on the market, such as lecanemab and donanemab, are approved to clear existing amyloid plaques, we’ve identified this mechanism that prevents the production of the amyloid‑beta 42 peptides and amyloid plaques,” said corresponding author Jeffrey Savas, associate professor of behavioral neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in a press release.
“Our new results uncovered new biology while also opening doors for new drug targets.”
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The brain is better able to avoid the pathway that produces toxic amyloid‑beta 42 proteins in younger years, but the aging process gradually weakens that ability, Savas noted.
“This is not a statement of disease; this is just a part of aging. But in brains developing Alzheimer’s, too many neurons go astray, and that’s when you get amyloid-beta 42 production,” he said.
The effect was also seen in post-mortem human brain tissue obtained from individuals with Down syndrome, who are at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease. (iStock)
That then leads to tau (“tangles”) — abnormal clumps of protein inside brain neurons — which can kill brain cells, trigger neuroinflammation and lead to dementia.
In order for levetiracetam to function as an Alzheimer’s blocker, high-risk patients would have to start taking it “very, very early,” Savas said — up to 20 years before elevated amyloid-beta 42 levels would be detected.
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“You couldn’t take this when you already have dementia, because the brain has already undergone a number of irreversible changes and a lot of cell death,” the researcher noted.
The researchers also did a deep dive into previous human clinical data to determine whether Alzheimer’s patients who were taking the anti-seizure drug had slower cognitive decline. They reported that the patients in that category had a “significant delay” in the span from cognitive decline to death compared to those not taking the drug.
“This analysis supports the positive effect of levetiracetam to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s pathology,” the researcher said. (iStock)
“Although the magnitude of change was small (on the scale of a few years), this analysis supports the positive effect of levetiracetam to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s pathology,” Savas said.
Looking ahead, the research team aims to find people who have genetic forms of Alzheimer’s to participate in testing, Savas said.
Limitations and caveats
The study had several limitations, including that it relied on animal models and cultured cells, with no human trials conducted.
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Because the study was observational in nature, it can’t prove that the medication caused the prevention of the toxic brain proteins, the researchers acknowledged.
Savas noted that levetiracetam “is not perfect,” cautioning that it breaks down in the body very quickly.
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The team is currently working to create a “better version” that would last longer in the body and “better target the mechanism that prevents the production of the plaques.”
“You couldn’t take this when you already have dementia, because the brain has already undergone a number of irreversible changes and a lot of cell death.”
The medication’s common documented side effects include drowsiness, weakness, dizziness, irritability, headache, loss of appetite and nasal congestion.
It has also been linked to potential mood and behavior changes, including anxiety, depression, agitation and aggression, according to the prescribing information. In rare cases, it could lead to severe allergic reactions, skin reactions, blood disorders and suicidal ideation.
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Funding for the study was provided by the National Institutes of Health and the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund.
Fox News Digital reached out to the drug manufacturer and the researchers for comment.
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