Polycystic ovary syndrome has a new name. The condition, long known as PCOS, has been renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, a change announced Tuesday at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague and published in The Lancet.
The rename follows 14 years of work by international societies and patient groups across six continents, an effort that brought in more than 50 patient and professional organizations and collected more than 22,000 survey responses. Researchers and clinicians involved in the process said the old name had helped fuel confusion, delayed diagnosis and inadequate medical care for a condition that affects one in eight women and is estimated to touch more than 170 million women worldwide.
Professor Helena Teede, who was involved in the renaming effort, said the term PCOS did not capture the multi-system burden people with the condition have lived with and directed attention to only one organ. She and others said the old label suggested the problem was mainly about ovarian cysts, even though researchers found there is no increase in abnormal ovarian cysts in the condition. Teede said the agreed principles behind the new name included patient benefit, scientific accuracy, ease of communication, avoidance of stigma, cultural appropriateness and implementation.
The new term, PMOS, is meant to reflect a disorder that affects the reproductive system, metabolism and the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The condition can also affect weight, metabolic health, mental health, skin and fertility. One patient involved in the debate said she had never had cysts on her ovaries and could not understand why she had been diagnosed with polycystic ovaries. Maddy Mavrikis said a doctor told her at age 15 that she would probably never have children, a warning she later learned was not true. She was later found to have high levels of androgens and insulin resistance, a common feature of the condition that affects about 85% of women with PCOS.
The shift is not instant. Organizers have set a three-year transition period, with full adoption expected in the 2028 International Guideline update. The Endocrine Society was among the organizations involved, and Teede said the change was driven with and for those affected. For patients who spent years being told a condition centered on cysts they did not have, the new name is meant to fix the mismatch at the heart of the diagnosis.
