Underdiagnosis in women is a significant issue that stems from systemic biases and a lack of inclusive medical research. Trusted experts highlight several key areas and insights regarding this problem:

1. Heart Attacks:

   • Emily Capodilupo discusses how medical education focuses primarily on male symptoms of heart attacks. Women often present with symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and shoulder or jaw pain, which are considered "atypical." This leads to slower diagnoses and worse outcomes for women 1.
   • Caroline Criado Perez states that women are more likely to die following a heart attack due to misdiagnosis. Symptoms like breathlessness, nausea, and fatigue are often not recognized as heart attack indicators in women, causing delays in treatment 2.

2. ADHD:

   • Mel Robbins shares her personal experience of being diagnosed with ADHD at age 47. She highlights that women are often diagnosed later in life, if at all, due to differences in symptom presentation compared to men. This delay can lead to significant struggles with untreated ADHD 3 4.
     

     1

     Gender Bias in Diagnoses

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     2

     Gender Bias in Medicine

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     3

     Late Diagnosis, Life Impact

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     4

     Surprising Signs

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     5

     Uncovering ADHD Realities

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     6

     Gender Bias in Medicine

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     7

     Pain and Bias

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   • Dr. Sasha Hamdani also notes that women frequently receive ADHD diagnoses much later than men, typically in their 30s, due to a lack of awareness and understanding of how ADHD manifests differently in females 5.

3. Pain Management:

   • Erin Welsh highlights studies showing gender biases in pain treatment. Women are more likely to be given sedatives rather than painkillers and often face misdiagnoses when their symptoms coincide with stressful life events, leading to psychological rather than biological explanations for their pain 6.

4. Chronic Pain and Bias:

   • Sheetal DeCaria discusses the implicit biases in medicine that result in women, particularly Black women, facing delays in life-saving interventions for conditions like heart attacks. Historically ingrained stereotypes contribute to these disparities, despite efforts in bias training within healthcare systems 7.

Addressing these biases requires systemic changes in medical education, inclusive research, and increased awareness among healthcare professionals to ensure timely and appropriate diagnosis and treatment for women.