November 13, 2026, 4:53 pm | Read time: 5 minutes
Women and men can exhibit different symptoms for the same illnesses. Yet, in many areas, medicine is still heavily focused on the male body. Medications are often primarily tested on men, medical guidelines frequently align with male standards, and knowledge about typical disease symptoms is often based on male symptoms. The result: Doctors sometimes misinterpret women’s complaints, do not take them seriously enough, or fail to recognize diseases. There is even a term for this: Gender Health Gap. Experts from various medical fields highlight where the problems are particularly significant.
Why the Medical Care Gap Affects Women
The differences in medical care between men and women (the “Gender Health Gap”) have various causes. On one hand, there are still gaps in knowledge about women’s health in medicine. On the other hand, women sometimes view certain complaints as a normal part of being female and therefore do not seek medical help or do so only late.
Often Diagnosed Late: PMOS
Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Susanne Reger-Tan is the director of the Clinic for Diabetology and Endocrinology and chief physician at the Heart and Diabetes Center North Rhine-Westphalia. She says: “One in eight women is affected by polyendocrine metabolic ovary syndrome, or PMOS. In addition to an irregular cycle and external signs of excess male hormones, obesity and insulin resistance are core features of PMOS. Affected women have a higher risk of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and mental health impairments. PMOS is still diagnosed too rarely and too late. A large portion of those affected report that it took them two years and more, as well as three doctor visits, to receive a diagnosis.”
Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovary Syndrome (PMOS)
PMOS – formerly called PCOS – is a common hormonal disorder in women of childbearing age. Affected women have an excess of male sex hormones. This leads to few or no mature eggs. Symptoms include infrequent menstruation and excessive body hair. The condition is often the reason for unfulfilled desires to have children.
Often Overlooked in Women: Heart Attack
General practitioner Dr. Carsten Lekutat explains: “Women’s medicine differs significantly from men’s medicine. We are just beginning to understand how important gender-specific differences in medicine are. For example, when women come to the doctor with acute chest pain, a heart attack is often not considered. Women are also more frequently diagnosed with depression. There are sometimes overdiagnoses here, while other conditions, like heart attacks, are underdiagnosed. In women, psychosomatic causes are often considered, and diagnostics are stopped, even though further physical examination should be conducted. Another example is vaccinations. Women’s immune systems react differently than men’s. Women can therefore react differently to vaccinations and sometimes have more side effects. This is now medically known but often overlooked.”
Dr. Dierk Heimann, a general practitioner and lipidologist, confirms: “In women, cardiovascular risk is particularly often overlooked. Although we have learned a lot in recent years about where gender-specific differences lie, I am still shocked that it takes longer to diagnose a heart attack in women. Also, the treatment of risk factors often begins later. Additionally, it is often not considered that cardiovascular risk changes after menopause.”
Endometriosis: Diagnosis Often After Years of Pain
With endometriosis, too, a lot of time often passes before affected women receive a diagnosis. One who knows this is Prof. Dr. med. Sylvia Mechsner, senior physician at CVK and head of the Endometriosis Center at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. She says: “With endometriosis, we still see delayed diagnoses. The diagnosis peak has now shifted from 39 to 34 years, which is an improvement. But since endometriosis is associated with severe menstrual pain, it still means that affected women suffer for about 20 years on average (from the first menstrual period; editor’s note) before they receive a diagnosis. The reasons for this are varied and complex. But a major problem is that the opinion still often prevails that pain during menstruation is normal and that girls and women should endure it.”
Physical Complaints in Women Are More Often Classified as Psychological
Menopause Is Over–What Comes Next?
Menstrual Pain and Menopausal Complaints
Dr. Konstatin Wagner, a gynecologist and social media influencer, sees it similarly. He emphasizes: “A major problem is that severe menstrual pain is still socially considered normal. Many girls learn during puberty that pain during menstruation is just part of it. However, pain that significantly restricts daily life can be an important warning signal. Also, heavy bleeding, chronic lower abdominal pain, and hormonally induced mood swings are often not taken seriously enough. Additionally, complaints during perimenopause are often underestimated. Sleep disturbances, exhaustion, concentration problems, or depressive moods are then attributed solely to stress, even though hormonal changes can play an important role. It is crucial not to dismiss complaints as normal too quickly but to carefully investigate their causes.”
ADHD in Women: Diagnosis on Average Four Years Later
There are also differences between the genders in ADHD. According to psychiatrist and ADHD expert Dr. med. Astrid Neuy-Lobkowicz, the condition remains undetected longer in women on average.
She explains: “ADHD is recognized in women on average four years later than in men. The reason is that women tend to have the inconspicuous type. It is also referred to as quiet ADHD. As children and adolescents, women are more likely to be dreamy, somewhat scatterbrained, absent, slow, cumbersome, very thin-skinned, and sensitive. There are three so-called ADHD peaks, or life stages, when women typically receive the diagnosis: in young adulthood, when they have children, and during menopause. But that is far too late–especially for a condition that severely limits quality of life. Unfortunately, the path to diagnosis is very difficult. Far too few doctors dare to tackle ADHD. Even most psychiatrists do not feel responsible. And this is for a disease that is anything but rare and is also well treatable.”