Thyroid disease is frequently missed, misdiagnosed, or dismissed in Black women, even when symptoms are disruptive, progressive, and life-altering, creating a dangerous health disparity rooted in medical bias and racialized assumptions.
Thyroid disorders affect more than 12 percent of Americans during their lifetime, with up to 60 percent unaware of their condition, according to the American Thyroid Association. Women face higher risk than men, yet Black women encounter unique barriers to diagnosis.
Symptoms like fatigue, weight changes, mood shifts and sleep problems are routinely attributed to stress, depression, poor diet or lack of exercise in Black women. These explanations are often offered prematurely, without adequate testing, creating a dangerous assumption that symptoms are behavioral rather than biological, which delays diagnosis and treatment.
Weight gain from hypothyroidism is especially likely to be dismissed in Black women. Instead of investigating hormonal causes, providers may default to diet advice, exercise recommendations, or moralizing language about self-care. This not only delays care but reinforces stigma that discourages patients from returning for follow-up.
Research consistently shows that Black patients are less likely to have their pain and discomfort taken seriously. Subtle thyroid symptoms like joint pain, palpitations, or cognitive changes may be downplayed until the condition becomes severe.
Black women are often taught to doubt their bodies—to push through fatigue, ignore discomfort, and accept dysfunction as normal. Thyroid disorders expose the danger of that conditioning. Improving thyroid outcomes requires more than patient education—it demands provider training on bias, more inclusive clinical research, standardized screening protocols, and accountability when concerns are dismissed.
See: “Underactive vs. Overactive Thyroid: Why Black Women Are Often Misdiagnosed” (February 2, 2026)
