Women more often reported psychiatric misdiagnoses — News-Medical

Women with autoimmune diseases were more likely than men to report that, before the correct diagnosis was made, their symptoms had been attributed to psychiatric or psychosomatic causes. This is stated in an international study of 6,607 patients published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, reports News-Medical.

Differences in patient reports

Among respondents, 43% of women and 33% of men said that symptoms of their autoimmune disease had previously been linked to a psychiatric cause. Another 34% of women reported receiving a psychosomatic diagnosis, in which physical symptoms are explained by psychological factors that may cause or worsen them. Among men, 22% reported this.

After accounting for age, disease group, continent and household financial situation, women were nearly 50% more likely to report a psychiatric misdiagnosis and nearly 75% more likely to report a psychosomatic misdiagnosis than men. At the same time, reports of an incorrect diagnosis of another physical disease were slightly more frequent among men: 48% versus 44% among women.

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Delays in diagnosis

Female participants also more often indicated a longer period between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis, as well as a greater number of medical consultations. The most commonly reported time to diagnosis among men was up to three months, while among women it was one to two years.

The study was led by specialists from the University of Cambridge and the University of East Anglia. It was based on patients' responses about their diagnostic journey, including the time from symptom onset to diagnosis, the number of medical consultations and previous diagnoses, rather than solely on medical records.

The authors noted that autoimmune diseases may begin with nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, pain, sleep disturbances or low mood, and their diagnosis can sometimes take months or years. The researchers urged doctors to consider the possibility of an autoimmune disease before making a psychiatric or psychosomatic diagnosis if symptoms do not go away, change, or affect several body systems. At the same time, they stressed that psychiatric and autoimmune conditions can coexist.