Submitted by sjc313 on Thu, 08/05/2025 - 10:26
Elisa Liberati, THIS Institute, Department of Public Health and Primary Care
People with mental health conditions are also at increased risk of physical illnesses: for example, they are up to twice as likely to have cardiometabolic conditions as those without mental health conditions. The reasons for this are complicated, but one potential contributor is diagnostic inequalities – delayed, missed, or mis-diagnoses of physical health conditions, for example because symptoms are wrongly attributed to someone’s mental health condition. This systematic review collated evidence on diagnostic inequalities that may affect people with mental health conditions.
The literature is challenging and heterogeneous, precluding a meta-analysis. The designs of some studies meant that the inequalities they found could relate to issues beyond the control of the healthcare system (such as later presentation among people with mental health conditions). Nevertheless, 15 studies with comparator groups were set up in a way that permitted identification of inequalities arising after patient presentation – and so likely attributable to issues within the healthcare system itself. Fourteen of these studies found that people with mental health conditions were more likely to experience problems such as delayed or incorrect diagnosis than those without. The included studies covered the spectrum of mental health conditions, including severe mental illnesses and more mild or moderate conditions.