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Yes—recent studies report that women with autoimmune diseases more often than men say their symptoms were attributed to psychiatric or psychosomatic causes before diagnosis. In a 2026 University of Cambridge report on an international study of 6,607 people with autoimmune diseases, 43% of female participants and 33% of male participants reported a prior psychiatric attribution. These are participants’ accounts, not independently audited rates of clinical error: the figures do not show that every earlier explanation was wrong or that gender alone caused the difference.
What the recent study found
The Cambridge report describes a gap in reported diagnostic experiences: female participants were more likely than male participants to say autoimmune symptoms had previously been attributed to a psychiatric cause. After adjustment for selected factors—including age, disease group, continent and household finances—females were almost 50% more likely to report psychiatric misdiagnosis and nearly 75% more likely to report psychosomatic misdiagnosis. The report does not establish that those experiences were all clinically incorrect or explain why they occurred. University of Cambridge, 2026.
Dr Melanie Sloan of the University of Cambridge and the University of East Anglia said: “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.” That uncertainty can make careful assessment important; it does not by itself justify assuming that symptoms are psychological or autoimmune.
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How other autoimmune research compares
Separate studies report a similar pattern in narrower patient groups, but they measure different experiences and use different samples. Their percentages should not be added together or treated as direct replications.
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| Study and population | Reported findings | What to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 conference abstract: 4,482 people with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs) | Women versus men: 41% versus 28% reported mental-health misdiagnoses; 31% versus 16% reported psychosomatic misdiagnoses. | An online survey sample that was 90% female and 87% white; its composition limits how broadly the results can be generalized. Rheumatology conference abstract, 2026. |
| 2020 exploratory online survey: 233 people with lupus or related systemic autoimmune diseases | Mean reported time from symptoms to diagnosis was 6 years 11 months; 76% reported at least one misdiagnosis. Mental-health or non-organic explanations accounted for 47% of reported misdiagnoses. | These are findings from a small, selected online survey, not population-wide estimates. Among respondents reporting mental-health or medically unexplained symptom misdiagnoses, 60% said those experiences made them less likely to seek care or report symptoms later. Rheumatology Advances in Practice, 2020. |
What “psychological” can mean—and what the studies cannot show
Psychiatric, psychosomatic, mental-health, medically unexplained and “psychological” are not interchangeable labels. The studies report how participants described prior explanations or misdiagnoses; they do not independently establish what a clinician concluded at the time, what evidence was available, whether a mental-health condition coexisted, or whether a particular attribution was wrong. A mental-health diagnosis can coexist with an autoimmune disease. The concern raised by these findings is that symptoms may be prematurely attributed without adequate investigation, not that psychological care is inherently inappropriate.
Nor does the evidence identify a single cause for the reported differences. The Cambridge report and SARD abstract discuss possible influences including gendered assumptions, diagnostic uncertainty and gaps in disease knowledge. A 2024 study of neuropsychiatric lupus adds a balancing caution: symptoms may be insufficiently attributed to lupus, but attributing all symptoms to lupus can also lead to inappropriate treatment. Rheumatology, 2024.
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How to raise persistent or changing symptoms with a clinician
These findings are not a basis for self-diagnosis or for stopping prescribed mental-health care. If symptoms persist, change or remain unexplained, describe them clearly and ask how possible explanations are being assessed.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute- Record when symptoms began, how they have changed, how often they occur and what affects them. A written timeline can help organize a visit, but it is not a diagnostic test.
- Bring relevant test results, diagnoses, medications and a concise list of your main questions.
- Ask what explanations are being considered, what supports or weighs against each one, and whether follow-up or referral is appropriate if symptoms continue.
- If symptoms change or worsen, report that change to a qualified clinician rather than assuming it is caused by either an autoimmune or psychological condition.
What broader women’s-health evidence adds
UK and Victorian government reports describe broader experiences of dismissal, repeat visits and pain-related bias, including in areas that involve autoimmune conditions. They offer context for why patients may describe difficulty securing assessment; they are not estimates of how often autoimmune symptoms are misattributed. The UK survey reports on women’s health experiences across conditions. UK Government, Women’s Health survey results. Victoria’s 2025 inquiry gathered input from more than 13,000 contributors and includes autoimmune conditions among areas affected by pain-related bias. Department of Health, Victoria.
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