Evidence mapPaperPMID 41333043Full record

ArticleInternational journal of women's health2025

Struggles in Accessing Healthcare, the Experiences Made by Women with Lipedema in Sweden - A Qualitative Study.

Johan Dahlberg, Elisabet Nylander, Margareta Persson, Alexander Shayesteh

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of women's health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. New Frontiers in modeling the lipedema microenvironmentFrontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Johan DahlbergDepartment of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Dermatology and Venereology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.ORCID 0009-0003-9204-1474
Elisabet NylanderDepartment of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Dermatology and Venereology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Margareta PerssonDepartment of Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-5300-0990
Alexander ShayestehDepartment of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Dermatology and Venereology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-0700-7195

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Lipedema is a relatively unknown condition, often leading to misdiagnosis and a lack of proper treatment. Purpose: To explore the experiences of seeking healthcare support and treatment among women with a physician-verified diagnosis of lipedema. Methods: Twelve women with lipedema, verified by medical examination, were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The transcribed data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach and abstracted to visualize manifest and latent meanings. Results: The theme "Pushing the barricaded doors to treatment and care while fighting to illuminate the shadows of lipedema" describes the experiences of women being denied subsidized treatment and disregarded by healthcare professionals. The theme is based on three categories "Experiencing societal injustice and gatekeeping in healthcare services", "Combating prejudice and stigmatization with increased awareness", and "Having a solid desire for improved and affordable treatment options". Women with lipedema described feelings of being abandoned by decision-makers and healthcare. When in need of symptom relief, women with lipedema searched and attempted different therapies, and when treatment were available, the women would have to pay for it themselves. Conclusion: Lipedema remains an unknown disease with few available treatments in subsidized healthcare. Lack of experience regarding lipedema among healthcare professionals and their failure to assess the condition risks damaging the confidence of affected women. Therefore, increased awareness and education of healthcare personnel to increase the clinical recognition of lipedema are necessary first steps to reducing misdiagnosis, improve patient satisfaction, and the availability of care among patients with lipedema.

Indexed as

content analysispatient experiencetreatment availabilitywomen’s health

Identifiers

PMID41333043
PMCPMC12667720

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.