A global consortium of physicians and researchers has officially renamed polycystic ovary syndrome to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, with the change published in The Lancet on Tuesday after 14 years of collaboration and intended to improve patient care, The Independent reported.
"More comprehensive and accurate"
“The thought behind that is that one, there are no cysts in the ovary, so it’s very confusing,” said Dr Melanie Cree, a pediatric endocrinology expert at the University of Colorado Anschutz and one of the authors of the Lancet article. “The hope was that with a more comprehensive and accurate name change, it would start to enable and push better care,” she added.
Backers of the change said the new terminology highlights that the condition extends beyond ovarian findings and reflects a broader metabolic and hormonal disorder with body-wide effects, a point the initiative’s authors emphasized in their report: “The term polycystic ovary syndrome has long been recognized as inaccurate and potentially harmful. The current name reflects only one organ and fails to capture the disorder’s multisystem nature,” British Vogue reported. The disorder affects more than 170 million women globally, and the World Health Organization estimates that prevalence is between 10% and 13%—up to 13%—among women of reproductive age, with nearly 70%—more than two-thirds—of cases going undiagnosed, The Guardian reported.
Irregular menstrual cycles
Clinicians describe the condition as commonly involving irregular menstrual cycles and signs of excess androgens—such as acne or hirsutism—while stressing that it is intertwined with metabolic and dermatologic systems as well as reproduction, British Vogue reported. Recent research led by Dr Jia Zhu at Boston Children’s Hospital indicates the condition is part of a broader metabolic and reproductive disorder that can start early in life and involve males as well as females. “Our findings indicate a higher genetic risk for PMOS can manifest in children even before they reach reproductive age,” Zhu said.
Experts say diagnosis remains complex and can be prolonged, with commonly used Rotterdam criteria requiring two of three findings: irregular or absent ovulation, evidence of excess androgens, and polycystic-appearing ovaries on ultrasound, British Vogue reported. Physicians caution that PMOS is a diagnosis of exclusion requiring other thyroid, pituitary, and adrenal disorders to be ruled out, and they warn against relying solely on ultrasound, which can lead to overdiagnosis and misdirected treatment, British Vogue reported.