Women with autoimmune disease more often told it's 'in the mind', study of 6,607 finds
Representative image: Xperia6 / Pixabay
Women with autoimmune diseases were far likelier than men to have symptoms blamed on psychiatric causes and waited longer for diagnosis, a study published 12 October 2026 found.
What Happened
Women with autoimmune diseases are considerably more likely than men to be told that their symptoms are psychiatric or "all in the mind" before they get the right diagnosis, according to a study led by the University of Cambridge and the University of East Anglia, published in the journal eClinicalMedicine on Monday, 12 October 2026. The researchers analysed the diagnostic histories reported by 6,607 people living with autoimmune conditions. After allowing for age, type of disease, continent and household finances, women were almost 50 per cent more likely to report a psychiatric misdiagnosis and nearly 75 per cent more likely to report a psychosomatic one. Women also reported longer waits and more medical visits before being correctly diagnosed.
Key Facts
- The study covered 6,607 people with autoimmune diseases and relied on what patients reported about their own diagnostic journeys.
- About 43 per cent of women said their symptoms had been put down to a psychiatric cause, against about 33 per cent of men.
- About 34 per cent of women reported a psychosomatic explanation, against about 22 per cent of men.
- After adjustment, women were almost 50 per cent more likely to report a psychiatric misdiagnosis and nearly 75 per cent more likely to report a psychosomatic one.
- For men, the most common time from first symptoms to diagnosis was under three months; for women it was one to two years.
- Men were slightly more likely to report being misdiagnosed with a different physical disease (48 per cent against 44 per cent).
- The authors point to historical gender bias in medicine as a possible factor, alongside the general difficulty of diagnosing autoimmune disease.
Why It Matters
Autoimmune diseases happen when the body's immune system attacks its own tissues. They include conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and thyroid disorders like Hashimoto's disease, and many of them affect women far more often than men. Early symptoms are frequently vague: tiredness, pain, brain fog, low mood or anxiety. Blood tests can be normal at first, and there may be little to see on examination. That makes these illnesses hard to pin down for any doctor.
What the study adds is a measure of how differently that uncertainty plays out for women and men. When a woman's symptoms are attributed to stress, anxiety or depression, she may be sent away without further tests, prescribed treatment for the wrong condition, or made to doubt her own experience. Months or years can pass while the underlying disease continues to cause damage. The finding that women's most common wait was one to two years, compared with under three months for men, gives a sense of the cost in time.
The study has limits. It is based on what patients said rather than on checked medical records, so it captures how people experienced their care rather than a verified count of errors. Participants were not a random sample of all patients. But the size of the gap, and its consistency after adjusting for other factors, will add weight to calls for doctors to take women's physical symptoms seriously and to keep autoimmune disease in mind when tests are unclear.
For women managing work, family and their own health, the practical lesson is to keep a record of symptoms, ask directly whether an autoimmune cause has been ruled out, and seek a second opinion when an explanation does not fit. Mental health and physical illness can coexist; one does not rule out the other.
| Measure | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Symptoms blamed on a psychiatric cause | About 43% | About 33% |
| Symptoms called psychosomatic | About 34% | About 22% |
| Most common time to diagnosis | One to two years | Under three months |
Impact
Short-term: The findings are likely to be discussed in medical training and by patient groups pressing for faster referral and testing for women with unexplained symptoms.
Long-term: If clinicians act on the evidence, women could see shorter delays, fewer wrong labels and earlier treatment that limits lasting damage from autoimmune disease.
Who is affected: Women with unexplained fatigue, pain or neurological symptoms, people already living with autoimmune conditions, general practitioners, specialists and health systems that set diagnostic pathways.
Key Takeaway
A study of 6,607 patients published on 12 October 2026 found women with autoimmune diseases were far more likely than men to have symptoms wrongly blamed on psychiatric or psychosomatic causes and waited much longer for a diagnosis.
Questions and Answers
What did the autoimmune misdiagnosis study find?
Women with autoimmune diseases were almost 50 per cent more likely than men to report being misdiagnosed with a psychiatric condition and nearly 75 per cent more likely to report a psychosomatic label, after adjusting for other factors.
Who carried out the research and where was it published?
It was led by the University of Cambridge and the University of East Anglia and published in eClinicalMedicine on 12 October 2026, based on reports from 6,607 people with autoimmune diseases.
How long did women wait for a correct diagnosis?
The most common time from first symptoms to diagnosis was one to two years for women, compared with under three months for men.
What can a woman with unexplained symptoms do?
Keep a written record of symptoms and when they occur, ask the doctor whether autoimmune causes have been checked, and seek a second opinion if an explanation does not fit. Anxiety or low mood does not rule out a physical illness.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
Sourced and fact-checked by the Peepals Global Editorial Team
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