ArticleRheumatology (Oxford, England)2025
'I still can't forget those words': mixed methods study of the persisting impact on patients reporting psychosomatic and psychiatric misdiagnoses.
Article in Rheumatology (Oxford, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- What is the Role of "the Psyche"? Long COVID and ME/CFS as Test Cases for Evidence-Based and Patient-Centered Psychiatry and Psychotherapy.Psychiatrische Praxis · 2026Review
- An Overview of Severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- A Reflection on Growing Up With Hyperacusis.Journal of patient-centered research and reviews · 2026Article
- Adapting to living with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases; a qualitative exploration of patient and clinician perspectives.Rheumatology international · 2025Article
- When the diagnosis misses the mark: The psychiatric cost of misdiagnosing hypophosphatasia as fibromyalgia.World journal of clinical cases · 2025Article
- "My world has shrunk": a mixed-methods exploration of the impact of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases on patients' lives.Rheumatology international · 2025Article
- "Have you considered that it could be burnout?"-psychologization and stigmatization of self-reported long COVID or post-COVID-19 vaccination syndrome.BMC medicine · 2025Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThis research aimed to improve understanding of persisting impacts of patient-reported psychosomatic and psychiatric misdiagnoses on patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs).
methodsMixed methods data from two SARDs cohorts were analysed (N = 1543 and N = 1853). Validated instruments and patient-designed questions were used to measure self-reported depression, anxiety and mental wellbeing, in addition to medical relationships and healthcare behaviours. Comparative tests were used to evaluate differences between patients reporting psychosomatic and/or psychiatric misdiagnoses and other patients.
resultsPersisting adverse outcomes of perceived psychosomatic and psychiatric misdiagnoses were identified in multiple domains. This included >80% of patients reporting that it had damaged their self-worth, and 72% reporting that it still upset them. Patients reporting psychosomatic and/or psychiatric misdiagnoses had significantly lower mental wellbeing, and higher depression and anxiety levels (all P < 0.001), and lower levels of satisfaction with every aspect of medical care, compared with patients reporting no psychosomatic or psychiatric misdiagnoses. Psychosomatic and psychiatric misdiagnoses had varying associations with healthcare behaviours, including a significantly higher likelihood of under-reporting symptoms (P < 0.001) and healthcare avoidance (P = 0.012), but not with medication adherence (P = 0.2). Thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed that symptom under-reporting and healthcare avoidance often resulted from distrust and fear that symptoms would be disbelieved and misattributed again.
conclusionPatient-reported psychosomatic and psychiatric (mis)diagnoses are associated with persisting adverse impacts in multiple domains including mental health, medical relationships, self-worth, and some healthcare behaviours. Health services and clinicians should consider these potential adverse impacts on patients and offer support to reduce any persisting negative impacts.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.