Black women with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) are facing misdiagnoses and delays in proper treatment, potentially due to racial bias in the healthcare system. Multiple patients reported being initially misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes, leading to years of ineffective management and denial of appropriate medications and technologies.
LADA, which affects up to 10% of patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, is more similar to type 1 diabetes and requires different treatment. However, misconceptions about race, weight, and age can lead doctors to incorrectly diagnose LADA patients with type 2 diabetes.
Phyllisa Deroze, a Black woman, spent eight years misdiagnosed before learning she had LADA. “My PhD didn’t save me,” Deroze said. “You just see the color of my skin, the size of my body, and it negates all of that.”
Rochelle Naylor, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Chicago, noted that misdiagnoses “seem to happen more frequently for African American patients and for other minoritized groups.”
The article highlights the struggles of four Black women who had to advocate for themselves to receive correct diagnoses and proper care. They faced challenges in obtaining antibody tests, which can confirm LADA, and accessing necessary technologies like continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps.
Experts argue for more widespread antibody testing to prevent misdiagnoses and potentially life-threatening complications. The experiences of these women underscore the ongoing issues of racial bias and health disparities in the U.S. healthcare system, particularly in diabetes care.
See “These Patients Had to Lobby for Correct Diabetes Diagnoses. Was Their Race a Reason? (January 12, 2024)
