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The failure to diagnose a condition is one of the most common types of misdiagnosis. Malpractice lawsuits from failure or delayed diagnosis occur mostly, in terms of dollar value, from conditions such as heart attack, breast cancer, appendicitis, lung cancer, and colon cancer. However, these are not the most common undiagnosed conditions, but are simply the ones that lead to the most rapid damages. Serious conditions such as diabetes and hypertension are very commonly undiagnosed, but do not lead as rapidly to severe injury (and hence to dollar awards in malpractice lawsuits).
To examine how commonly failure-to-diagnose or delayed diagnosis occurs,
here is a list of conditions according to the number
of people undiagnosed.
This is an estimate of how many people unknowingly currently have the condition.
For comparison, see conditions by people affected (prevalence
or incidence),
conditions by prevalence
and conditions by incidence.
See also details about prevalence and incidence statistics
for more information.
In most cases, the rates refer to the USA
or other industrialized nations.
| Condition | Percent | Rate | US People | Data |
| 1. Toxoplasmosis | 22.06% | 1 in 4 | 60 million | less than 60 million; most do not have symptoms (DPD) |
| 2. Sleep disorders | 14.71% | 1 in 6 | 40 million | about 40 million (almost all cases are undiagnosed according to some reports) |
| 3. Otosclerosis | 10.00% | 1 in 10 | 27.2 million | as many as 10% of Caucasians have the condition but most do not get symptoms. |
| 4. Extra Nipples | 10.00% | 1 in 10 | 27.2 million | about 1 in 10 people have an extra nipple but most are small, misshapen, and mistaken for freckles or moles |
| 5. Osteoporosis | 6.62% | 1 in 15 | 18 million | 18 million with low bone mass (many are undiagnosed) |
| 6. Hypertension | 5.51% | 1 in 18 | 15 million | more than 15 million (more than 30% of 50 million are undiagnosed) |
| 7. COPD | 5.51% | 1 in 18 | 15 million | 15 million undiagnosed or in early stages |
| 8. Chronic lower respiratory diseases | 5.51% | 1 in 18 | 15 million | estimated 15 million |
| 9. Migraine | 5.15% | 1 in 19 | 14 million | 14 million undiagnosed |
| 10. Thyroid disorders | 4.78% | 1 in 20 | 13 million | about 13 million (based on estimates from the AACE, as reported by Reader's Digest 1; estimated 8 million people (American Medical Women's Association) |
| 11. Latent tuberculosis | 3.68% | 1 in 27 | 10 million | estimated 10 to 15 million people in USA (NIAID) |
| 12. Obstructive sleep apnea | 3.68% | 1 in 27 | 10 million | as many as 10 million |
| 13. Diabetes | 2.10% | 1 in 47 | 5.7 million | 5.7 million Americans (based on NWHIC) |
| 14. Sleep apnea | 2.00% | 1 in 50 | 5.4 million | estimated 2-4% of Americans undiagnosed |
| 15. Chlamydia | 1.25% | 1 in 80 | 3.4 million | estimated 3.4 million cases (based in NIAID/CDC estimates with only about 600,000 to 800,000 reported from 4 million cases) |
| 16. Parkinson's Disease | 1.10% | 1 in 90 | 3 million | estimated 3-4 million people |
| 17. Age-related macular degeneration | 0.83% | 1 in 120 | 2.3 million | 0.5 million in the UK |
| 18. Sjogren's Syndrome | 0.74% | 1 in 136 | 2 million | estimated 2 million |
| 19. Aneurysm | 0.74% | 1 in 136 | 2 million | about 2 million Americans with unruptured brain aneurysms (Reader's Digest Feb 2004)1 |
| 20. Hemochromatosis | 0.55% | 1 in 181 | 1.5 million | 1.5 million Americans (Hemochromatosis Foundation) |
| 21. Salmonella food poisoning | 0.51% | 1 in 194 | 1.4 million | up to 1.4 million cases (CDC/NAID); estimated that only 2% of cases are reported to CDC |
| 22. Breast Cancer | 0.37% | 1 in 272 | 1 million | estimated 1 million |
| 23. Glaucoma | 0.37% | 1 in 272 | 1 million | 1 to 1.5 million (about half of 3 million Americans) for chronic glaucoma |
| 24. Celiac Disease | 0.37% | 1 in 272 | 1 million | estimated 1 million undiagnosed Americans; more than a million (Reader's Digest Feb 2004) |
| 25. Von Willebrand disease | 0.37% | 1 in 272 | 1 million | estimated 1 million undiagnosed US women with Von Willebrand disease |
| 26. Open-angle glaucoma | 0.37% | 1 in 272 | 1 million | 1 to 1.5 million (about half of 3 million Americans) |
| 27. Cryptosporiosis | 0.18% | 1 in 544 | 500,000 | 0.5 to 2 million undiagnosed cases each year |
| 28. Gonorrhea | 0.15% | 1 in 679 | 400,000 | estimated 400,000 cases (CDC/NIAID based on 800,000 estimates with about 400,000 reported) |
| 29. HIV/AIDS | 0.08% | 1 in 1,208 | 225,000 | estimated 225,000 Americans (based on NIAID 900,000 prevalence with quarter undiagnosed). |
| 30. Narcolepsy | 0.06% | 1 in 1,813 | 150,000 | estimated 150,000 undiagnosed (based on NHLBI estimates) |
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