Global Experts Rename PCOS in Bid to Improve Diagnosis and Fertility Care
Prague-A global coalition of medical experts and patient groups has renamed Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, the world’s leading cause of female infertility, in an effort to improve diagnosis, treatment and public understanding of a condition affecting an estimated 170 million women worldwide.
The condition will now be known as Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, or PMOS, according to findings published in The Lancet and presented Tuesday at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague.Researchers said the previous name, commonly shortened to PCOS, frequently misled both patients and clinicians by emphasizing ovarian cysts, which are not present in every case and are not the defining feature of the disorder.
Dr. Terhi Piltonen of the University of Oulu, lead author of the Lancet paper and a related research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine, said the terminology had contributed to delayed diagnoses and fragmented medical care.
Researchers said the new name was intended to better reflect the disorder’s broad hormonal, reproductive and metabolic effects, including infertility, irregular menstruation, insulin resistance, obesity, cardiovascular complications, anxiety and depression.Women with the condition often exhibit elevated levels of immature ovarian follicles rather than actual cysts, researchers noted.
The renaming initiative was coordinated by several international research groups and the Androgen Excess and PCOS Society following a multi-year consultation process involving more than 14,000 survey responses from patients and healthcare professionals, two international workshops and contributions from 56 medical, academic and patient advocacy organizations.
Medical experts said the terminology shift could help standardize care and improve awareness among clinicians, particularly because many patients remain undiagnosed or receive treatment focused narrowly on reproductive symptoms instead of broader metabolic risks.
Although PMOS remains incurable, symptoms can be managed through medication, dietary changes and exercise, according to guidance from the Endocrine Society.
Researchers said implementation of the new terminology would begin immediately, with plans over the next three years to integrate PMOS into clinical guidelines, medical education, health systems and international disease classification standards.
