October 16, 2026
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New research suggests women with autoimmune diseases are misdiagnosed with mental health conditions much more frequently than men.
Women with autoimmune diseases may be more likely than men to be told it's all in their heads.
A study, published Monday, analyzed the experiences of more than 6,600 people with autoimmune diseases and found that women were significantly more likely than men to be misdiagnosed as having a psychiatric or psychosomatic condition.
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"Although labels such as hysteria are outdated, and fortunately rarely used nowadays, as women we still often have a harder time having our symptoms believed and therefore addressed accurately," the study's co-author, Shaista Tayabali, said in a news release.
Researchers found that 43% of women with autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis, had had their symptoms previously misattributed to psychiatric issues, compared to 33% of men.
Among the women, 34% also reported that their symptoms had been attributed to psychosomatic causes – meaning their illnesses were aggravated by mental or emotional causes – compared to 22% of men.
On the other hand, the study found that men were somewhat more likely to be misdiagnosed with another physical disease compared to women, at 48% and 44% respectively.
Accurately diagnosing autoimmune diseases can be difficult and takes time, said Dr. Melanie Sloan a researcher at the University of Cambridge in England.
"Patients with autoimmune diseases can present with symptoms that can initially be difficult to explain medically, and sometimes it can take months or years before a diagnosis becomes clear," Sloan said. "Our findings highlight that psychological or mental health explanations can be given too soon. This is true for both sexes, but our study suggests that females may be particularly vulnerable to these types of misdiagnoses."
Autoimmune diseases, also sometimes called autoimmune disorders, occur when the body's immune system ends up attacking healthy cells. A healthy immune system sends out white blood cells to fight off viruses, bacteria and other threats. But in someone with an autoimmune disease, the immune system is on high-alert and winds up attacking cells it should not. This can affect tissue in different parts of the body, including the joints, muscles, nervous system, endocrine system and digestive system, the Cleveland Clinic says.
Autoimmune diseases cause a wide variety of symptoms, including inflammation, which can lead to swelling and pain in different parts of the body. Muscle weakness, vision problems and other symptoms may occur. Symptoms also may come and go.
Chron's disease and Celiac disease are autoimmune diseases of the digestive system. Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus are autoimmune diseases that affect joints and muscles. Hashimoto's disease and type 1 diabetes are autoimmune disease of the endocrine system.
Much about autoimmune diseases is still unknown, including their causes. COVID-19 and other infections may put people at higher risk of developing an autoimmune disease, as may genetic conditions, family history, environmental factors and smoking.
