Health
Transgender ‘trend’ sharply declining on American college campuses, new analysis finds
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The trans-identification trend among young people appears to be losing momentum.
Recent data taken from college campuses shows a sharp decline in the number of Gen Zers identifying as transgender over the past three years.
Eric Kaufmann, a professor of politics at the University of Buckingham, conducted his own analysis of a large survey of U.S. undergraduates — which included a question asking them to identify their gender.
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Anything that isn’t a man or woman is considered “gender non-conforming,” the surveying organization shared with Fox News Digital.
The possible answers are listed below.
- Man
- Woman
- Nonbinary
- Agender
- Genderqueer or genderfluid
- Unsure
- Prefer not to say
In the 2025 survey of 68,000 students, only 3.6% of respondents identified as a gender other than male or female.
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“By comparison, the figure was 5.2% in 2024 and 6.8% in both 2022 and 2023,” Kaufmann wrote in his analysis, which was published on UnHerd.com.
“In other words, the share of trans-identified students has effectively halved in just two years.”
“The share of trans-identified students has effectively halved in just two years.”
The report also found that “non-conforming sexual identity” has sharply declined, according to Kaufmann. Those identifying as gay or lesbian remained “stable,” although heterosexuality has risen 10 points since 2023.
Additionally, in 2024-2025, fewer college first-year students identified as “trans or queer” compared to seniors — which is the opposite of what occurred in the 2022-2023 year.
“This suggests that gender/sexual non-conformity will continue to fall,” Kaufmann wrote in an X post sharing the data.
Recent data from college campuses shows a sharp decline in the number of Gen Zers identifying as transgender over the past three years. (iStock)
The annual survey — College Free Speech Rankings — is conducted by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The aim is to gather students’ opinions on freedom of speech, along with demographic information like gender.
Kaufmann conducted his analyses using six years of demographic data from the survey, FIRE confirmed to Fox News Digital.
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His independent report, “The Decline of Trans and Queer Identity among Young Americans,” was published by the Centre of Heterodox Social Science and has not been peer-reviewed.
“Our survey looks at student attitudes for free expression and is conducted for that purpose,” FIRE told Fox News Digital. “As a side effect of asking demographic questions of so many respondents, one can glean trends in demographics, as Professor Kaufmann has done here.”
Reasons for the decline
Kaufmann said he believes that improved mental health likely played a part in the shift.
“Less anxious and, especially, depressed students are linked with a smaller share identifying as trans, queer or bisexual,” he wrote.
Improved mental health likely played a part in the shift among college students, said the professor who did the analysis. (JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images)
The decline could also signal the fizzling out of a trend, Kaufmann added.
“The fall of trans and queer seems most similar to the fading of a fashion or trend,” he wrote. “It happened largely independently of shifts in political beliefs and social media use, though improved mental health played a role.”
“Perhaps young people are realizing they don’t have to announce or label everything about themselves to be valid.”
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, noted that the study is “very interesting,” but doesn’t pinpoint the cause of the decline.
“It brings up more questions than it answers,” the doctor, who was not involved in the survey, told Fox News Digital. “Could the change be due to a changing cultural climate? Less political pressure from parents and society? Could it be due to the idea that gender dysphoria resolves in many cases?”
Rather than rejecting who they are, young people may simply be tired of feeling pressured to define every emotion or difference with a new identity, a psychotherapist suggested. (iStock)
Siegel also wondered whether the attempt to “normalize” these choices and to “overcome stigmatization” could have been an overreaction in some cases, which is now being dialed back.
“Or is the stigmatization now increasing again, making students reluctant to declare themselves as non-binary now?” he asked. “This needs to be studied further.”
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Jonathan Alpert, a New York City psychotherapist, said this shift likely marks a “natural correction.”
“For a while, we taught young people to over-interpret every feeling. Therapy culture told them that every discomfort needed a label or diagnosis,” Alpert, who also was not part of the analysis or the survey, told Fox News Digital. “For some, that label became ‘nonbinary’ — not identifying with a gender.”
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According to Alpert, these results don’t necessarily mean that fewer people are identifying as transgender — “it’s mostly about fewer identifying as nonbinary, which is something very different.”
Rather than rejecting who they are, Alpert said, young people may simply be tired of feeling pressured to define every emotion or difference with a new identity.
“So, in essence, it’s the performance that’s slowing down — at least in what this study showed,” he said. “A few years ago, identity was treated almost like a social badge. Now, perhaps young people are realizing they don’t have to announce or label everything about themselves to be valid.”
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Alpert said he sees this same pattern in his own therapy practice.
“Once people become more comfortable in who they are, they stop needing to define themselves so rigidly. To me, that’s a sign of growing self-assurance, not intolerance.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Kaufmann for additional comment.
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Simple measurements taken during routine blood pressure checks could predict dementia risk years before symptoms appear.
That’s according to new research presented this week at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session in Louisiana.
The findings draw on two studies led by researchers at Georgetown University, which suggest that monitoring how blood vessels age and stiffen over time can provide a window into future cognitive health.
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Data shows rates of dementia and aging-related cognitive decline are expected to increase as populations age, and half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure (hypertension).
Scientists believe that efforts to better address hypertension, a key contributor to heart disease and a risk factor for dementia, could affect both cardiac and brain health.
Data shows rates of dementia and aging-related cognitive decline are expected to increase as populations age. Meanwhile, half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure. (iStock)
“Blood pressure management isn’t just about preventing heart attacks and strokes; it may also be one of the most actionable strategies for preserving cognitive health,” Dr. Newton Nyirenda, the study’s lead author and an epidemiologist at Georgetown University in Washington, said in a press release.
The research focused on two metrics, the pulse pressure-heart rate index and estimated pulse wave velocity. Both were calculated using data collected during standard doctor visits, such as heart rate, age and blood pressure.
“Blood pressure management isn’t just about preventing heart attacks and strokes; it may also be one of the most actionable strategies for preserving cognitive health.”
Researchers examined five years of data patterns for more than 8,500 people in the SPRINT trial, a large study of adults 50 years and older with hypertension. In the follow-up, 323 of the participants developed probable dementia.
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In one study, the team found the pulse pressure-heart rate index was a strong independent predictor of dementia risk in adults over 50. For participants under 65, every one-unit increase was associated with a 76% higher risk of developing dementia.
For participants under 65, an increase in the pulse pressure-heart rate index was associated with a 76% higher risk of developing dementia. (iStock)
The second study found that adults with consistently elevated or rapidly increasing pulse wave velocity were more likely to develop dementia than those with stable velocity, even after accounting for factors like smoking, gender and cardiovascular history.
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“Our findings suggest that vascular aging patterns may provide meaningful insight into future dementia risk,” said Nyirenda. “This reinforces the idea that managing vascular health earlier in life may influence long-term brain health.”
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The team emphasized that clinicians should tailor risk assessments and treatment strategies to the individual.
Further studies are needed to confirm these parameters and determine whether changing vascular aging trajectories reduces dementia risk. (iStock)
“You don’t want to wait until a patient starts manifesting cognitive decline before you act,” said senior study author Sula Mazimba, an associate professor at the University of Virginia.
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Researchers noted the study could not establish causation. Other limitations included the fact that participants already had hypertension and elevated cardiovascular risk, meaning the findings may not apply to people without those conditions.
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Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to determine whether improving blood vessel health over time could reduce dementia risk.
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A dangerous substance dubbed “gas station heroin” continues to alarm medical professionals, with more states making moves to restrict or ban tianeptine.
Fourteen states have officially classified the tricyclic antidepressant as a Schedule I controlled substance.
Connecticut is the latest state to crack down, officially banning the sale and use of the substance starting on Wednesday.
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Tianeptine, which can produce euphoria in higher doses, can be more potent than morphine and addictive opioids, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Some countries have taken steps to restrict how tianeptine is prescribed or dispensed, and have even revised the labels to warn people of its potential addictive qualities.
Tianeptine can be more potent than morphine and addictive opioids. (iStock)
Misuse of tianeptine can cause severe adverse health effects, including respiratory depression, severe sedation and death, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Some companies market the drug as an aid for pain, anxiety and depression, or as a means of improving mental alertness in a pill, powder, salt or liquid form.
The products are typically sold at convenience stores, gas stations, vape shops and online retailers, and go by names like Tianaa, ZaZa, Neptune’s Fix, Pegasus and TD Red.
Connecticut is the 15th state to classify tianeptine as a Schedule I controlled substance. (Markus Scholz/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Connecticut Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said in a press release that the schedule change is a necessary step to combat addiction.
“With false marketing that led consumers to believe these are safe products, and with candy-like flavor options, these substances posed a clear threat to those battling substance-use disorder and our youngest residents,” she added.
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The Nutmeg State also added Mitragyna speciosa (kratom), 7-hydroxymitragynine, Bromazolam, Flubromazolam, Nitazenes and Phenibut to the schedule classification.
Earlier this month, FDA Commissioner Martin Makary penned a letter sounding the alarm on what he called a “dangerous and growing health trend.”
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“I am very concerned,” Makary wrote. “I want the public to be especially aware of this dangerous product and the serious and continuing risk it poses to America’s youth.”
New York-based Robert Schwaner, M.D., vice chair of system clinical affairs at Stony Brook Emergency Medicine, told Fox News Digital that the FDA has never approved tianeptine as a dietary supplement.
“As with heroin and other opioids, significant mu-opioid receptor stimulation ultimately results in a loss of respiratory drive and subsequent cardiac arrest.” (Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office)
“The euphoria at low doses is primarily due to increased serotonergic activity from its serotonin reuptake effects. With increasing doses, the mu-opioid receptor stimulation may become lethal,” said Schwaner. “As with heroin and other opioids, significant mu-opioid receptor stimulation ultimately results in a loss of respiratory drive and subsequent cardiac arrest.”
Schwaner said he believes the substance requires national regulation due to its addictive qualities.
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“Acting at the same receptor as opioids, tianeptine has the potential for an individual to develop tolerance, subsequent dependence and withdrawal from its use,” he cautioned.
Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.
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