Women living with autoimmune diseases were almost 50% more likely than men to say their symptoms had once been blamed on a mental health condition, according to a survey of 6,607 patients published Oct. 12 in the Lancet journal eClinicalMedicine. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of East Anglia led the study.
The gap showed up in the raw numbers, too. Among women, 43% reported that their symptoms had been attributed to a psychiatric cause, compared with 33% of men, according to News-Medical. Women were also nearly 75% more likely to report being told their symptoms were psychosomatic, at 34% compared with 22% of men.
