Study finds women with autoimmune disorders often mislabelled as having mental health issues
Research involving 6,600 UK patients shows female sufferers of autoimmune diseases are more likely than men to have their symptoms dismissed as stress or anxiety.
A new study of 6,600 British adults, conducted by Cambridge University and the University of East Anglia, shows that women with autoimmune illnesses are significantly more likely to have their symptoms attributed to mental health causes. Published in The Lancet eClinicalMedicine, the research reports that 43% of female participants were told their condition stemmed from stress or anxiety, versus one-third of men, and 34% received a psychosomatic label compared with 22% of men.
Commonly missed diseases include under-active and over-active thyroid disorders, lupus and arthritis, which often present with fatigue, weight changes and muscle pain. Specialists such as primary-care doctor Melanie Sloan and rheumatologist David D'Cruz stress the need for clinicians to consider underlying autoimmune disease when symptoms persist. The findings highlight enduring gender stereotypes in medicine that can hinder timely diagnosis for women.
Why it matters
Gender bias in diagnosing autoimmune diseases can delay treatment for millions of women in the UK.
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