Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42029390›Full record

ArticleCanadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie2026

The Intersection of Autism and Gender Diversity in the Canadian Clinical Context: Characterizing a Sample of Adults Referred to Canada's Largest Publicly Funded Adult Gender-Care Service: Intersection de l'autisme et de la diversité des identités de genre dans le contexte clinique canadien : Caractérisation d'un échantillon d'adultes orientés vers le plus grand service de soins en matière d'identité de genre destinés aux adultes financé par le secteur public au Canada.

Molly Isabel Pascoe, Jacqueline Vincent, Meng-Chuan Lai, Pushpal Desarkar, Nina Vitopoulos, Yona Lunsky, Kinnon Ross MacKinnon, June Sing Hong Lam

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Molly Isabel PascoeDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0009-0008-5086-8445
Jacqueline VincentGender Identity Clinic, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Meng-Chuan LaiDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-9593-5508
Pushpal DesarkarAdult Neurodevelopmental Services and Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Nina VitopoulosGender Identity Clinic, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Yona LunskyAzrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-1866-9728
Kinnon Ross MacKinnonSchool of Social Work, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
June Sing Hong LamGender Identity Clinic, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-9797-4041

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BackgroundResearch indicates a significant overlap between transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) and autistic identities. This intersectional population has higher risks of mental health challenges and worse mental health outcomes than individuals with just one of the two identities. Limited research focuses on adults at this intersection and their care access needs. To better characterize this population in the Canadian context, this study examines the population referred to Canada's largest publicly funded adult gender-related care clinic and compares demographic and diagnostic characteristics between those with and without a pre-existing autism diagnosis.MethodsThe data come from the medical records of 1,843 adults referred to the Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada, between January 2020 and March 2025. The prevalence of autism diagnosis prior to entering the clinic was calculated. Average age, sex-assigned-at-birth composition, prevalence of gender dysphoria diagnoses and of additional mental health and neurodevelopmental diagnoses were compared between autistic and non-autistic groups. Changes across time in the number of autistic individuals referred to the GIC were analyzed.ResultsApproximately 6.3% of adults referred to GIC had a diagnosis of autism. The autistic and non-autistic groups had no difference in average age. The groups had no differences in sex-assigned-at-birth distribution. Autistic adults had greater rates of gender dysphoria. Autistic adults had higher rates of each category of mental health and neurodevelopmental diagnoses examined.ConclusionsThis study is a first step in developing a holistic understanding of the experiences of autistic TGD adults seeking clinical gender-related care in the Canadian context, providing a starting point to addressing needs and barriers to care for this population, as well as insight into the substantial mental health challenges experienced by this population.Plain Language Summary TitleCharacterizing the population of autistic adults visiting a large gender-care service in Canada.

Indexed as

Autistic DisorderGender DysphoriaTransgender PersonsAdultCanadaFemaleGender-Affirming CareGender-Nonconforming PersonsHumansMaleMiddle AgedYoung Adultadultsautismautisticgender diversitygender-related clinical caretransgender

Identifiers

PMID42029390
PMCPMC13109239

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.