Have you heard? Polycystic ovarian syndrome is getting a name change! The international medical community has decided that from now on PCOS will be called polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS).
Gynaecologists and endocrinologists have updated the name to reflect their modern understanding of the condition. Over the last few decades, women’s health specialists have come to learn that the polycystic ovaries are just one symptom of a larger metabolic disorder. Doctors like Dr Helena Teede, endocrinologist and director of Monash University’s Center for Health Research Implementation and UK based PMOS charity, say things need to change. They argue that referring to this complicated hormonal condition as ‘Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome’ places too much emphasis on the cysts and is confusing for both patients and physicians.
Teede, who spearheaded the name change campaign, says this new name is the ‘next critical step’ in improving care for women struggling with PMOS. She and her colleagues hope that this change will strengthen global advocacy for holistic, unbiased and scientifically precise treatment.
So why does polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome work better? Will this reshape how clinicians treat patients? Let’s find out!
A Rose by Any Other Name
For years, ‘polycystic ovarian syndrome’ was the official diagnosis for women with irregular periods, acne, excessive androgens, insulin resistance and ‘polycystic’ ovaries.
Teede and her colleagues have long pointed out that the designation ‘PCOS’ doesn’t really make sense. The symptoms vary drastically from woman to woman. Some women don’t even have ‘polycystic’ ovaries. This makes diagnosing PMOS/PCOS a complicated task – especially for those who don’t experience the symptom mentioned in the name!
For example, many women experience symptoms such as irregular menstrual cycles, excessive body hair, excess body weight, acne, insulin resistance and infertility. Ovarian disturbances such as follicular cysts are also common and are normally discovered during an ultrasound. The sticking point is that women can also have a lean body mass and a lack of follicular cysts, but still suffer the metabolic and endocrine disruptions seen in PCOS, e.g. insulin resistance. It’s perhaps not surprising then that some clinicians might not put the pieces together, leaving women with no diagnosis and no treatment. Doctors often fall short when providing care to these women through missed diagnoses and lack of holistic treatment.
‘It was heartbreaking to see the delayed diagnosis, limited awareness and inadequate care afforded those affected by this condition,’ Dr Teede reflected in a press release for the Endocrine Society.
As long as PCOS is seen strictly as an ovarian syndrome, its metabolic, psychological, and cardiovascular complications will continue to go untreated. Women who fall outside of this category will continue to be ignored.
A Time for Change
The biggest problem with the medical term polycystic ovarian syndrome is its emphasis on cysts. ‘Polycystic ovarian syndrome’ implies that there are actual harmful cysts in the ovaries; however, this is not the case. The so-called cysts that we see on ultrasounds of some women with PMOS are, instead, arrested follicles holding immature eggs, which form miniature fluid sacs around them. These ‘cysts’ don’t cause pain. They don’t grow, and they don’t require surgical removal. So, are they really ovarian cysts? Technically, no.
‘I think the most important thing is to say it is not a cystic condition of the ovaries. There [is] no increase in abnormal cysts in this condition. It is a hormone or endocrine condition, which means our chemical messenger system is disturbed,’ Dr Teede explained in an interview with CBC radio. The term ‘polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome’ better captures multisystemic features of the condition. This helps to shift the laser focus away from gynaecological and ovarian issues only, and encourages treatment and screening for cardiometabolic and other complications as well.
A Long and Hard Campaign to Change PCOS to PMOS
Endocrinologists like Teede aren’t the only ones who sense it’s time for a change. A global coalition of PCOS experts, including advocates from Verity, the Androgen Excess and PCOS Society and the Centre for Research Excellence in Women’s Health in Reproductive Life, conducted international surveys of over 14,000 patients and healthcare workers. Polling results revealed that 86% of women with PCOS and 71% of healthcare professionals felt that the term PCOS did not adequately represent the syndrome. They agreed that it is time to adopt a name that better describes the condition’s broader symptoms.
So why did the experts choose polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome? Clinicians and patient advocates spent years working together to come up with a new name. It took fierce patient advocacy efforts from PCOS sufferers, non-profits like Verity UK, and consistent healthcare professional engagement and education initiatives from over 56 organizations globally to reach an agreement.
The new name needed to represent the broader hormonal and metabolic elements of the condition while not straying too far from the original name. At one time, experts considered keeping the initialization PCOS and changing what the P and C stood for, but patient advocates pointed out that this would not solve the ‘polycystic’ problem. Through various workshops, surveys and discussions around a new name, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome was ultimately the winner. PMOS is close enough to PCOS, that people can make the link, but importantly, it recognizes the endocrine and metabolic aspects that truly capture the nature of the disorder.
What’s in a name? Everything.
But, a name is just a name… right? Why go to all that trouble to change a ‘C’ to an ’M’?
How we name medical condition can shape how much bias people face, the quality of care they receive, as well as how healthcare providers understand the condition in general. Disease nomenclature heavily influences research direction as well. The people who set health and research funding priorities are often politicians or civil servants who aren’t experts in metabolic disease. If the name of a disorder leads to funding applications being sorted into the wrong pile, we end up focusing all of our research and treatments on a single aspect of the condition. Most PMOS research to date has fixated on the reproductive symptoms, but we know that the syndrome affects multiple organ systems.
What’s more, when a condition is inappropriately named, multidisciplinary care does not happen, and women with PMOS know this all too well. A disorder labelled solely as an ‘ovarian’ issue will only involve a gynaecologist or a family doctor. Psychiatrists, endocrinologists, and cardiologists are less likely to be involved in care leading to untreated mental health struggles, a diabetes risk that is not given its due consideration, liver disease and other cardiometabolic complications. These are not ‘minor’ issues. They demand attention.
What does this mean for women going forward?
Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome affects 1 in 8 women and over 170 million during their reproductive years. A new name, respecting the multisystemic effects of the condition, will improve the diagnosis and treatment of women who suffer from PMOS.
Ideally, a woman with PMOS will have holistic care for multisystem issues rather than simply having birth control pills prescribed while she develops heart disease, becomes diabetic, or her liver fails without anyone noticing the warning signs.
The WHO plans to integrate the term PMOS in the 2028 update of its international guidelines. The guidelines are being used in 195 countries.
Ultimately, while it might be annoying to explain to people around you that PCOS and PMOS are the same thing, in the long term, this change will lead to better research and better care.
References
Bai, H., Ding, H., & Wang, M. (2024). Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment. Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology, 51(5), 126-126. https://doi.org/10.31083/j.ceog5105126
Dalamaga, M. (2026). What’s in a name? From PCOS to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome: A metabolic reframing, promise, controversies, and challenges ahead. Metabolism Open, 100479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metop.2026.100479
Endocrine Society (2026). Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome: New name to improve diagnosis and care of condition affecting 170 million women worldwide. https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2026/pcos-name-change
Teede, H. J., Mahnaz Bahri Khomami, Morman, R., Laven, J. S. E., Joham, A. E., Costello, M. F., Patil, M., Rees, D. A., Berry, L., Cree, M. G., Zhao, H., Norman, R. J., Anuja Dokras, & Terhi Piltonen. (2026). Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, the new name for polycystic ovary syndrome: a multistep global consensus process. The Lancet, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(26)00717-8
