Polycystic ovarian syndrome, most commonly known as PCOS, no longer exists. Instead, doctors now refer to the condition as polyendocrine metabolic syndrome – or PMOS. It’s just a letter, but according to the doctors who treat it, it makes all the difference.
“This is one of the most significant changes I have seen in my career in reproductive endocrinology,” says Lora Shahine. Here’s why – and how the change will affect the more than 170 million people worldwide who suffer from the syndrome.
What is behind the change?
Renaming a syndrome doesn’t happen overnight. Over the past decade, a team from Monash University in Australia, led by Helena Teede, Ph.D., has sought input from more than 50 organizations and over 22,000 patients and physicians from around the world to reach a new consensus: PCOS is more accurately referred to as PMOS. In May 2026, their work was published in the major medical journal The Lancet, officially ushering in change.
The main reason for the renaming is that PCOS implies the presence of abnormal ovarian cysts – however many people with the condition do not have them. “The name was fundamentally wrong,” says Teede. “It didn’t reflect the diversity of the disease.”
The whole body reality
Until now, PMOS was technically considered an ovarian or gynecological disease. That’s because a common symptom is irregular periods or irregular ovulation. But the people who suffer from it and the doctors who treat them care about much more. “The name PCOS has always been a bit misleading,” says Rekha Kumar. “It suggested that the ovaries were the cause of the problem, but for the patients I see every day, this condition is much bigger than that. We’ve known for years that it affects hormones, metabolism, energy, weight and even mental health.” For this reason, patients with PMOS often experience acne, excessive hair growth on the face and body, and weight gain.
The name change places emphasis on the endocrine and metabolic systems, which are severely affected in people with PMOS. For example, between 70 and 80 percent of people with the syndrome suffer from insulin resistance, says Dr. Shahine. According to the World Health Organization, they also address cardiovascular challenges, including higher rates of hypertension and dyslipidemia, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, gestational diabetes and high blood pressure during pregnancy, and a four-fold increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
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What does this mean for people with PMOS?
According to the Lancet study, up to 70 percent of people with PMOS go undiagnosed – and a previously misleading name is part of that. “The name change is really about accuracy, and accuracy is important when it comes to how people are diagnosed and treated,” says Dr. Kumar. When doctors focus too much on ovarian symptoms while neglecting metabolic and endocrine symptoms, they may miss the diagnosis that is right in front of them
When it comes to treatment, the new name means looking at the patient more holistically. Now primary care, endocrinology, cardiology, mental health and reproductive medicine should play a role in diagnosing and treating PMOS, says Dr. Shahine. “For clinicians, the new name is a challenge,” she says. “It signals at every encounter that this is an endocrine and metabolic disease, not just a gynecological one. That should change screening, referral and counseling patterns.” For example, she says that a 16-year-old with acne and irregular periods should get a metabolic panel—not just a prescription for birth control. And a 55-year-old perimenopausal woman should still have her cardiovascular and metabolic health monitored because her increased lifetime risk in these areas does not disappear with ovulation.
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Going beyond fertility
In medicine, PMOS has historically been considered a fertility problem because it can make pregnancy significantly more difficult, but it’s not just about fertility. The result: Patients were told they didn’t need to treat their PMOS, says Dr. Shahine. This caused real harm as they suffered from non-fertility symptoms and failed to address their increased health risks. “Insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, fatigue, weight changes – these have too often been treated as secondary problems or, worse, as personal failings,” says Dr. Kumar. “It really didn’t do the patients any favors.”
By expanding the scope of the condition, it could also receive more attention and research. “Diseases that appear to be very specific to women and that relate very specifically to the female organs are often overlooked and do not receive the attention they deserve,” says Kelly Culwell. By giving a more holistic and truthful name, Dr. Culwell said PMOS will be less competitive when it comes to being a priority.
Added to this is personal influence. The change is simply more valid for patients, says Navya Mysore. It addresses a broader spectrum of what patients experience. “So many women I have worked with have been told for years to just lose weight or exercise more without anyone being able to see the connection to the actual hormonal and metabolic processes,” says Dr. Kumar. “The new name helps validate this experience. It is a signal from the medical community that we are finally listening.”
Better tools for treatment
The name change now sends a clear message to doctors and patients: there are real, systemic, multifactorial endocrine and metabolic disorders. For such a misunderstood condition, which often places responsibility on patients for managing symptoms (including by “simply losing weight”), this is a huge step toward legitimizing the experience of suffering from the condition. “This disease has real biological and hormonal causes,” says Dr. Kumar. “It’s not about willpower. It never was.”
And without a better understanding of the cause of the symptoms, treatments have been inadequate. “We were recommending weight loss too quickly without acknowledging the underlying physiology,” says Dr. Shahine. “Telling someone with severe insulin resistance to simply eat less and exercise more without addressing metabolic biology is both ineffective and harmful.” What doctors need instead are better tools to treat PMOS. (More recently, they’ve been using GLP-1—and it’s been promising.) Hopefully, with a more descriptive name, researchers can find even more targeted treatments, says Dr. Culwell.
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We still have a lot of progress to make with PMOS. Here’s what’s next
This step is important – but Teede himself will tell you that more needs to be done. “Once renamed, [this syndrome] can be reclassified, research funding can be expanded, new drugs can be developed, education can be appropriately focused beyond the ovary, and care models can address more than just infertility,” she says. “The name change alone can’t do that, but the rest can now follow.”
Expansion of research and funding
From endocrinology to obstetrics to primary care, physicians who treat this condition are encouraged by this move. “I hope this change will promote earlier detection, reduce stigma and confusion, and ultimately lead to more comprehensive care that addresses insulin resistance, cardiovascular health, mental health, inflammation, and long-term wellness—not just reproductive symptoms,” says Dr. Mysore. “For many patients, language is important and this appears to be a step towards more accurate, integrative and patient-centered care.”
One of the most pressing problems from the doctors’ point of view is earlier diagnoses. It can take years for someone to be diagnosed with PMOS, with wait times even longer for patients of color, those with larger bodies, and those without access to specialized care, says Dr. Shahine. Despite this important work, more research – particularly in underrepresented groups – is needed to build on the new understanding of PMOS. This should be followed by more rigorous, integrated care that includes multiple health departments.
READ MORE: “I’ve been diagnosed with PCOS – here’s what you should pay attention to”
Standardization of clinical care
Another, more immediate change concerns formalities. Dr. Shahine points out that the name change must be reflected in clinical guidelines, health record systems and payer policies – otherwise it will remain theoretical.
Finally, with PMOS (as with many other diseases that occur in women), a cultural change needs to take place. “We need a fundamental change in the way medicine talks about women’s weight and metabolic health,” says Dr. Kumar. “Not through blame or oversimplification, but through real clinical understanding of the female metabolic system – and real empathy for what it’s like to live with it.”
Good news? This development alone has significantly reignited this conversation. “Within two days, this message reached over 500,000,000 people,” says Teede.
Meet the experts: Lora Shahine, MD, is a gynecologist and reproductive endocrinologist at Pacific Northwest Fertility. Helena Teede, PhD, is an endocrinologist and director of the Monash Center for Health Research Implementation. Rekha Kumar, MD, is an endocrinologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and chief medical advisor at Found. Nayva Mysore, MD, is a family physician and women’s health expert. Kelly Culwell, MD, is a gynecologist.
This article by Olivia Luppino was originally published on Women’s Health US.