The Guardian
· collected 2026-10-13 · by Andrew Gregory Health editor
A study published in the Lancet eClinicalMedicine journal reveals that women with autoimmune conditions are up to 74% more likely than men to have their symptoms dismissed as psychological or psychosomatic. The research, conducted by the University of Cambridge and University of East Anglia, involved over 6,600 participants, most of whom were female patients from the UK suffering from conditions like Hashimoto’s disease, Graves’ disease, and systemic lupus. Key findings show that women are 46% more likely to receive a psychiatric misdiagnosis and wait an average of one to two years for diagnosis compared to men who often receive their diagnosis within three months.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-13,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but all 3 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 75670: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-13
Women with autoimmune conditions are up to 74% more likely than men to be told their symptoms are psychological or psychosomatic, and face much longer waits for a diagnosis and treatment, a study suggests.
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study → tell → diagnosis
Hundreds of millions of people – about one in 10 globally – are affected by autoimmune conditions, which can cause a range of health issues including fatigue, muscle pain and rashes.
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which → affect → fatigue
But research by the University of Cambridge and University of East Anglia suggests a stark gender divide when it comes to how signs of the conditions are handled by doctors.
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signs → suggest → doctors
Women are more likely to have their conditions wrongly attributed to psychiatric causes, more likely to have symptoms misdiagnosed as psychosomatic, and more likely to experience delays in getting a diagnosis, according to the study.
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symptoms → have → study
The lead author, Melanie Sloan, said: “The damage caused to women by these types of misdiagnosis can be very long lasting in terms of trusting doctors and their own self-esteem.”
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damage → say → doctors
Sloan, a researcher in the department of public health and primary care at Cambridge and UEA, said some women were forced to wait years before finally getting a diagnosis, causing long delays to treatment for their condition.
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women → say → condition
The study, published in the Lancet eClinicalMedicine journal, included more than 6,600 people with autoimmune conditions.
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study → publish → conditions
Patients listed their main condition, with almost a quarter of the women having autoimmune thyroid disease, which can cause the gland to become underactive – known as Hashimoto’s disease – or overactive, known as Graves’ disease.
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gland → list → disease
Hashimoto’s disease can cause weight gain, hair loss, fatigue and joint pain, while the symptoms of Graves’ disease include bulging eyes, palpitations and weight loss.
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symptoms → cause → eyes
One in seven women in the study had systemic lupus, which can cause tiredness, rashes and muscle pain.
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which → have → tiredness
Among male patients, rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), also known as “sticky blood” syndrome, were the most common conditions.
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arthritis → know → syndrome
Researchers found 43% of women reported being told their condition was down to a psychiatric cause compared with a third of men (33%).
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condition → find → men
A third (34%) of women also reported having symptoms misdiagnosed as psychosomatic – meaning they were triggered or worsened by stress or anxiety – compared with 22% of men.
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they → report → men
Overall, after accounting for factors including age, disease group, continent and household finances, researchers said women were 46% more likely to report having received a psychiatric misdiagnosis, and 74% more likely to report a psychosomatic misdiagnosis than men.
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women → account → men
Researchers also found women reported much longer periods between the onset of symptoms and receiving a diagnosis, as well as more healthcare consultations.
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women → find → diagnosis
Among men, the most frequently reported time to diagnosis was less than three months.
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time → report → diagnosis
Autoimmune conditions, which happen when the immune system attacks the body by mistake, can be complex to diagnose as they often present with symptoms common in the wider population.
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they → happen → population
The study team said “broader diagnostic challenges affect both sexes” but “females may face additional disadvantages”.
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females → say → disadvantages
They added: “Historical biases in medicine may persist, including positioning females as less credible and emotional reporters of symptoms than males.”
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biases → add → males
Sloan said the findings “highlight that psychological or mental health explanations can be given too soon”.
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explanations → say → ?
She added: “This is true for both sexes, but our study suggests that females may be particularly vulnerable to these types of misdiagnoses.
“
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females → add → misdiagnoses
It is really important that symptoms are not automatically assumed to be psychological and for doctors to just say, ‘I believe you,’ to patients with symptoms that the doctors cannot see.”
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doctors → assume → that
Shaista Tayabali, a patient affected by an autoimmune condition who was part of the research team and a co-author of the study, said: “The differences between the sexes in misdiagnoses for people with autoimmune diseases is stark.
“The fact that females reported higher rates of psychiatric and psychosomatic misdiagnoses than males … suggests that historical gender biases remain a challenging aspect of the diagnostic journey.
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biases → affect → journey
“Although labels such as hysteria are outdated, and fortunately rarely used nowadays, as women we still often have a harder time having our symptoms believed and therefore addressed accurately.”
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symptoms → use → time
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