{
  "id": 14057561,
  "title": "Females with autoimmune diseases 'less likely to be believed' than males and face longer diagnostic delays",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/females-with-autoimmune-diseases-less-likely-to-be-believed-than",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-12T22:30:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-females-autoimmune-diseases-believed-males.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Females with autoimmune diseases are significantly more likely to have their conditions misdiagnosed as psychiatric or psychosomatic, according to a study of over 6,600 patients. This international research, led by the University of Cambridge and University of East Anglia, found that 43% of females reported their symptoms were initially attributed to a psychiatric cause, compared to 33% of males. Females were also 34% more likely to be misdiagnosed as having psychosomatic symptoms. The study revealed that females were nearly 50% more likely to receive a psychiatric misdiagnosis and 75% more likely to be misdiagnosed as having a different physical disease than males. Researchers emphasize the importance of considering autoimmune diseases even when initial diagnoses appear psychiatric or psychosomatic.",
  "summary": "Females with autoimmune diseases are significantly more likely than males to have their autoimmune disease misdiagnosed as a psychiatric or psychosomatic condition, according to a study of more than 6,600 patients.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}