What does the recent name change mean for PMOS diagnosis and care?

According to the 2026 Lancet article, Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, The New Name for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Multistep Global Consensus Process, the new name hopes to help close gaps in diagnosis and care.

The recent renaming of PCOS as PMOS, Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, is the culmination of 14 years of global effort.  This article provides an overview of the history of naming of the condition as well as the aspirations and critique of the renaming.

The PMOS condition is mentioned in many historical texts prior to its original consensus naming; for example:

• The Kashyapa Samhita, an Ayurvedic text with origins in the 6^th century BCE describes the condition as “destroyer of flowers”, characterized by infertility and hairy cheeks;[1]

• Similarly, the Sushruta Samhita, another text from around the same time describes Artavakshaya (obstruction of menstrual blood) due to imbalanced bodily energies;[2]

• Hippocrates (460-377BCE) described, “women whose menstruation is less than three days or is meagre, are robust, with a healthy complexion and a masculine appearance; yet they are not concerned about bearing children nor do they become pregnant”;[3]

• Vallisneri, an Italian scientist, described a married, infertile woman with shiny ovaries with a white surface in 1721;[4] and

• Dr. Achille Chereau, described “ovaries [are] enlarged in volume, elastic, with smooth and shiny surface containing many small cysts, located on the periphery of the organ” in 1844.[5]

Two researchers, Stein and Leventhal, first coined the term “Polycystic Ovary Syndrome” in 1935; other names in common use included “Stein-Leventhal Syndrome”, “Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome” and “Polycystic Ovary Disease”.[6]  Up until this point, researchers were reliant purely on observable symptoms and the visible aspects of physiology.

“Syndrome” is widely held to provide a more accurate representation of the condition than disease:

• Syndrome: “a group of signs and symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality or condition”;[7] and

• Disease: “a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms”.[8]

From 1935 until around 1980, research focused on the endocrine/hormonal aspects of the condition.[9]

From the late 20^th century until 2023, there were progressive attempts to refine the diagnostic criteria for the condition, culminating in the International Evidence-based Guideline for the Assessment and Management of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome 2023.[10]  These guidelines clarified the core features of PMOS as at least two of:

• Androgen Excess (AE): a condition where the body produces too much androgen due to abnormal functioning of the HPO-axis, the system of glands and hormones responsible for regulating the reproductive system;

• Ovulatory Dysfunction (OD): the failure to ovulate, to release an egg or follicle from one of both of the ovaries during the menstrual cycle; and

• Polycystic Ovaries (PCO) or Polycystic Ovarian Morphology (PCOM): ovaries that have a buildup of multiple immature follicles or eggs.

These guidelines recognized that many individuals with the condition do not have PCO.  The guidelines also recognized that most individuals with PMOS have insulin resistance but did not include it as a diagnostic criterion.

Researchers also recognize that the “cysts” witnessed in PMOS are not true cysts but immature follicles (fluid-filled sacs that contain a single immature egg/oocyte) that have failed to fully mature and be released in the process of ovulation.[11]

In a 2023 global survey, 86% of individuals with lived experience of the condition and 76% of health professionals supported changing the name of PCOS to better reflect its broad health impacts.[12]

Through the 14-year process, many alternative names have been suggested including:[13]

• Hyperandrogenic chronic anovulation;

• Estrogenic ovulatory dysfunction;

• Functional female hyperandrogenism;

• Metabolic reproductive syndrome;

• A combination of PCOS and another name to reflect the “metabolic-type” phenotype of the condition; and

• Hyper androgen persistent ovulatory dysfunction.

These efforts culminated in June 2026 with the release of an article in the Lancet, “Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, the new name for polycystic ovary syndrome: a multistep global consensus process”.[14]

Aspirations for the renaming of the condition include:[15]

• Increasing awareness of the condition;

• Reducing clinical confusion around the multi-system aspects of the condition;

• Closing the diagnostic gap;

• Accelerating diagnosis, particularly in girls and young women, to provide the opportunity for preventative care;

• Reducing barriers to care which reflects the full spectrum of impacts of the condition;

• Ensuring care to individuals who are post-menopausal, i.e., outside of the reproductive age;

• Improving patient satisfaction; and

• Consideration of the presentation of the condition in biological men since they are known to share impaired metabolism and certain other features of the condition.[16][17]

Criticisms of the renaming of the condition include:

• Backslide of efforts to raise awareness of PCOS condition from grassroots, patient-led organizations;

• Penalizes smaller organizations due to the large administrative burden to re-align content and channels;

• Neglects the exclusionary aspect of “ovarian” for non-binary, transgender and biological males who have related health concerns;

• Refocus on metabolic aspects of the condition may not, in practice, improve the way individuals are dismissed and told to “just lose some weight” by healthcare providers; and

• The huge expended effort on renaming rather than finding a cure/treatment for the condition.

Sources

[1] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346278504_A_LITERARY_REVIEW_TO_UNDERSTAND_SAMPRAPTI_OF_NASHTARTAVA_WITH_SPECIAL_REFERENCE_TO_PCOS

[2] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346278504_A_LITERARY_REVIEW_TO_UNDERSTAND_SAMPRAPTI_OF_NASHTARTAVA_WITH_SPECIAL_REFERENCE_TO_PCOS

[3] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10254039/

[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28791833/

[5] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10254039/

[6] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10254039/

[7] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/syndrome

[8] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diseasesy

[9] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10254039/

[10] https://www.monash.edu/medicine/mchri/pcos/guideline

[11] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10254039/

[12] https://whirlcre.edu.au/pcos-name-change/

[13] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4818834/

[14] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00717-8/fulltext

[15] https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-raising-awareness-and-changing-the-name-led-by-experts,-health-professionals-and-those-with-lived-experience

[16] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306987706007754

[17] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17134841/