Last week, I came across a Gallup-Pivotal Women’s Health Survey conducted online on July 14-22. It shared some alarming statistics about how more women are being misdiagnosed by their doctors than their male counterparts. When women tell their doctors about their symptoms, doctors are more likely to dismiss them as something else than they would for male patients. The survey also reveals that more women have had to wait longer for a diagnosis than men. Why are women usually misdiagnosed? Why do they experience delayed diagnosis? Let’s examine this survey and this issue further.
Why Are Women Usually Misdiagnosed?
There are multiple reasons as to why women are usually misdiagnosed or why health concerns are often overlooked. Some doctors have dismissed a female patient’s serious symptoms as just being anxiety or stress. They may not take some women’s symptoms of pain or other related symptoms very seriously compared to men’s symptoms. Some conditions have received less research on women. There have also been some reports that some healthcare professionals may have implicit biases. Still, misdiagnosis can happen to anyone, and it’s important that the individual’s circumstances matter.
How Gender Bias Can Affect Medical Diagnosis?
The recent survey has shared that nearly half of women, about 47%, have waited three months or longer for a medical diagnosis. Another stunning revelation in the survey is that 22% of women have waited a year or more. Male patients, on the other hand, reported shorter wait times for a diagnosis, on average. Most people have attributed this to gender bias.
What is gender bias? It is having a preference for one gender over another, usually based on stereotypes or prejudices. Some people could start experiencing gender bias consciously, meaning they’re fully aware of having this behavior. But a person could experience it unconsciously, or when they’re unaware of having gender bias. This is also called implicit bias. Some healthcare professionals have been exhibiting this behavior towards female patients. Assumptions being made by them about their patient’s pain, emotions, age, or other characteristics can influence healthcare interactions. For example, many researchers have noticed a trend in doctors not believing in women’s pain, dismissing their symptoms as nothing serious. However, making wrong assumptions can have a significant effect on the quality of healthcare that a woman receives and can lead to misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, or even more tragic outcomes.
While chronic pain is one example of female symptoms that are often dismissed by doctors, others are overlooked. Let’s examine some of these.
Examples of Symptoms that are Commonly Overlooked
We already know about chronic pain and how some doctors have dismissed this condition in their female patients as being “time-wasters.” But there are other serious symptoms in women that have been brushed off by doctors. Some of them include:
- Persistent or unexplained fatigue
- Neurological symptoms
- Digestive changes
- Menstrual or reproductive symptoms
- Shortness of breath
- Changes in mood, concentration, or sleep
- Symptoms associated with autoimmune disease
- Heart-related symptoms
Any symptoms that women are experiencing, whether they’re explained or unexplained, shouldn’t be taken lightly. They deserve an adequate, appropriate medical evaluation, whether they’re severe or not.
Medical Conditions that Have Been Misdiagnosed or Diagnosed Late in Women
There are also many women either misdiagnosed or diagnosed late in life with serious conditions. Believe it or not, heart disease is one of those conditions. There are gender differences in the way symptoms of heart disease are present in females and males. When a female patient shares her symptoms with a doctor, she’s more likely to be dismissed than a male patient. Doctors are even more likely not to refer their female patients for diagnostic testing and treatment. This alarming information is shown in the Gallup-Pivotal survey, showing one-third of women (34%) strongly or somewhat agree that their healthcare provider has either minimized or dismissed their symptoms at some point in the past five years. Doctors failing to recognize symptoms beyond what’s presented in a patient with heart problems could be detrimental to the person’s health.
Another condition that affects women that is often either misdiagnosed or diagnosed late is autoimmune diseases. One survey from the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association (AARDA) shows that 62% of people with autoimmune conditions are labeled as “chronic complainers” by doctors. Since women account for the majority of people with these conditions, this makes them disproportionately affected by doctors’ dismissive attitude. For example, 9 out of 10 adults with the lupus condition are women. However, men are getting diagnosed with it more quickly than women.
ADHD and autism are also major conditions that are misdiagnosed or diagnosed late in women. Nearly 80% of women with autism are misdiagnosed with other conditions such as borderline personality disorder. Women walking around with ADHD are often dismissed by their doctors as having problems with anxiety. It’s still unknown how often women with ADHD are misdiagnosed. There has also been a rise in women being diagnosed with these conditions late in life. I didn’t get diagnosed with ADHD until I was an adult woman.
One of the major reasons for this is that the symptoms of ADHD and autism look different in women compared to men. Because anxiety and depression are common in people with ADHD or autism, doctors may diagnose women with those conditions instead. Sometimes, conditions could have overlapping symptoms, causing doctors to misdiagnose. Also, autism and ADHD are still often regarded as “male disorders.” Girls with ADHD don’t exhibit as many social difficulties as boys and have better verbal communication skills. They also aren’t as hyperactive and disruptive as young boys, causing teachers, parents, and clinicians to overlook them more in being diagnosed. Another factor could be that as young girls grow up to be women, they may learn how to hide their ADHD and autism symptoms from others, leading to misdiagnosis or a delayed diagnosis.
How Women Can Advocate for Their Health
If you’re a woman with serious symptoms that have been dismissed or ignored, you can still advocate for your health. One of the ways you can do that is to keep a symptom journal. Record some of the unusual symptoms that you’ve been experiencing, the severity of them, how often you’ve been experiencing them, and most importantly, when these symptoms began. Also, keep track of any medications and supplements you take for these symptoms.
It’s also important to come with a list of strong questions for your doctor about your symptoms. Do your own research about them. Be as specific as you can about your inquiries. Ask questions about what they think about any treatments or vitamin supplements you’ve already been using. You are showing them that you are taking control of your health.
Also, don’t shy away from getting a second opinion. Find a doctor who will listen to what’s going on with you. This next doctor might see some things that your usual doctor didn’t see. So it could be potentially life-saving to get another opinion before taking one doctor’s word for it.
So why are women usually misdiagnosed? Why are they usually overlooked by their doctors? Why are they diagnosed later on in life? There really isn’t a single reason. However, some of the keys to reducing this problem are improvement in the lines of communication between the female patient and doctor, more providers carefully listening to their female patients, and adequate research. One thing that we all could agree on is that persistent or unexplained symptoms deserve appropriate medical evaluation.
Are you a woman who has been misdiagnosed by your doctor? Why do you think women’s symptoms are often dismissed? Feel free to share your thoughts about this in the comments section below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next woman you know coping with health issues.
