A condition affecting 1 in 8 women just got renamed after decades of confusion and misdiagnosis

It’s not often that a serious medical condition gets renamed, but that’s the case now for a condition that impacts one in eight women.

Polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal disorder long known as PCOS, will now be called PMOS – short for polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome. The new name, announced Tuesday at the European Congress of Endocrinology and published in leading medical journal The Lancet, aims to more accurately describe the syndrome and make diagnosis easier for people who suffer from it.

A group of specialists who worked to rename the condition criticized its longstanding name as inaccurate, explaining that misunderstandings about its features led to delayed diagnosis and inadequate care, as well as interfering with research. 

“What we now know is that there is actually no increase in abnormal cysts on the ovary, and the diverse features of the condition were often unappreciated,” said Monash University Professor Helena Teede, an Australian clinical researcher and endocrinologist who spearheaded the change. The hormonal disorder’s new name puts the focus on “endocrine, metabolic, and ovarian dysfunction” – three major areas of symptoms for sufferers.

The name change is the result of a 14-year-long worldwide effort that collected input from more than 50 organizations and 14,000 people with the condition. The new name for PCOS will be officially implemented in a 2028 update to international guidelines for treatment of the disorder.

“While international guidelines have advanced awareness and care, a name change was the next critical step towards recognition and improvement in the long-term impacts of this condition,” Teede said.

Understanding PCOS

People who suffer from PCOS often have unusually high levels of androgen hormones like testosterone – a hallmark of the endocrine disorder. Those hormonal imbalances can disrupt ovulation, cause unpredictable and especially painful periods, and lead to fertility problems in PCOS sufferers.

The new name for PCOS will deemphasize the condition’s association with ovarian cysts, centering its complex hormonal fluctuations instead. In PCOS, hormone changes can prevent follicles from emptying and releasing eggs, which can create something that looks like a cyst on the ovaries but that is actually distinct from a true ovarian cyst.

People with PCOS are also at a higher risk for endometrial cancer due to the disruptions to ovulation and their menstrual cycles. Because they ovulate irregularly, the uterine lining is exposed to more estrogen and less progesterone, a hormonal switch that increases the risk of cancer. 

PCOS can also lead to symptoms well beyond the reproductive system, disrupting metabolism, causing depression and anxiety, and creating a hormonal environment for severe acne and excess hair growth. People with PCOS are at greater risk for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and sleep apnea, among other comorbid conditions.

LIke many chronic women’s health conditions, PCOS lacks a simple diagnostic test and does not yet have a known cure. Through hormone therapies and lifestyle changes, symptoms can be managed when patients receive an accurate diagnosis – something the disorder’s new name should make more common. 

“This change was driven with and for those affected by the condition and we are proud to have arrived at a new name that finally accurately reflects the complexity of the condition,” Teede said. “Make no mistake, this is a landmark moment that will lead to desperately needed worldwide advancements in clinical practice and research.” 

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