From PCOS to PMOS: Surveying name change through the experiences of adolescent girls in Aali village, Delhi

One May 2026 Article published in The Lancet announced that Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) has been renamed Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS). This change followed a 14-year global process involving 56 leading academic and clinical organizations and survey responses from more than 14,360 people worldwide. The term PCOS relied on the presence of ovarian cysts to diagnose the disease, obscuring its true nature as a complex, multisystem hormonal and metabolic disorder. The new name recognizes the multiple interactions of hormonal imbalances associated with the disease, including insulin dysregulation, elevated androgen levels and neuroendocrine dysfunction.

According to the World Health OrganizationPMOS affects more than 170 million women worldwide, meaning approximately one in eight women suffer from PMOS. However, up to 70 percent of women with this disease remain undiagnosed.

Although the clinical and scientific community has moved toward greater rigor, a more pressing problem remains in low-income communities across India that cannot be solved by a name change alone.

Renaming this condition is important because limited understanding of PMOS has led to delayed diagnoses and ongoing stigma for decades. The impact of this has been borne disproportionately by marginalized patients. Although the clinical and scientific community has moved toward greater rigor, a more pressing problem remains in low-income communities across India that cannot be solved by a name change alone.

Field Evidence from Aali: What Silence Looks Like on the Ground

In India, PMOS is not only experienced as a hormonal disorder; It is experienced through the lens of femininityFertility and marriageability. Women and girls often hide their symptoms, avoid gynecological consultations and delay treatment to avoid the social consequences of a diagnosis. This is particularly true in low-income communities, where access to stigma-free health care is limited and social surveillance of women’s bodies and reproductive lives is particularly intense.

The Aali area in South Delhi, where I conducted my fieldwork, is densely populated and consists predominantly of migrant families from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab, most of whom earn their living through informal work. According to the 2011 censusFemale literacy rate in Aali was 72.77 percent compared to male literacy rate of 90.50 percent. The female sex ratio was 853, compared to Delhi’s average of 868. These figures reflect a structural context in which adolescent girls have limited access to education, healthcare and information, with information on reproductive health particularly scarce.

In the urban slums of New Delhi, PMOS had no name at all among the adolescent girls who are the subject of this article. There is a social taboo against discussing the disease caused by family inconveniences. And this silence and the gaps it creates are increasingly being filled by misinformation.

In the urban slums of New Delhi, PMOS had no name at all among the adolescent girls who are the subject of this article. There is a social taboo against discussing the disease caused by family inconveniences. And this silence and the gaps it creates are increasingly being filled by misinformation. Girls who experienced symptoms such as irregular periods, acne, weight gain, or excessive facial hair often had little understanding of why these changes occurred and lacked the knowledge to recognize these experiences as symptoms of a treatable condition.

I conducted my fieldwork over a period of eight weeks among adolescent girls aged 11 to 18 years in Aali village in Delhi. Several important insights were gained during this time. First, there was virtually no awareness of PCOS as a named disease. Second, girls expressed that issues related to women’s reproductive health and menstruation were not openly discussed at school or at home. Third, the girls had encountered misinformation about women’s reproductive health on social media – particularly Instagram and YouTube – that was often inaccurate and sensationalistic.

Mothers and other female relatives in the family did not speak openly about it, although they knew more about menstruation and women’s reproductive health. Fathers, brothers and other men in the family, however, were almost completely absent from any conversation about reproductive health. The household, which should be the first place for a child to gain knowledge, had instead become a place of resolute silence.

What the renaming does and doesn’t do

The renaming of PCOS to PMOS represents a significant advance in medical science. By removing the misleading reference to cysts and highlighting the polyendocrine and metabolic dimensions of the disease, the new name will enable more accurate diagnosis while helping to reduce stigma in both societal and clinical settings. However, the impact of this renaming is currently largely limited to the clinical and academic sectors.

In communities like Aali, people know little about the disease, so the impact of the renaming is hardly felt. The structural conditions in these communities, such as poverty, gender inequality, family silence and inadequate health infrastructure, lead to ignorance, stigmatization and delayed diagnosis and are unaffected by this terminological reform.

In communities like Aali, people know little about the disease, so the impact of the renaming is hardly felt. The structural conditions in these communities, such as poverty, gender inequality, family silence and inadequate health infrastructure, lead to ignorance, stigmatization and delayed diagnosis and are unaffected by this terminological reform.

In addition to renaming the condition, community interventions are also needed in places like Aali. Interventions that bring accurate information about PMOS to the places where young women and adolescent girls actually live, in languages ​​they understand, through channels they can access, and involving community health workers who can influence their health behaviors.

The way forward

The renaming of PCOS to PMOS needs to go much further than the pages of The Lancet. The evidence gathered through my fieldwork suggests several concrete steps that can be taken to achieve this goal.

First, reproductive education must begin at an earlier stage and should reach communities where it is not currently offered. Girls often reach puberty without basic knowledge of their own bodies. Therefore, effective intervention must begin with basic education about puberty and menstruation before PMOS can be treated.

ASHA and Anganwadi workers are the most scalable route to PMOS awareness at the community level in India. Accurate, destigmatized reproductive health information and integration of PMOS into existing programs for mothers and adolescents would significantly expand reach. Integrating PMOS-related knowledge should be a policy priority and not an afterthought.

Family engagement is also crucial and awareness sessions with adolescent girls and their families should be conducted in understandable language. However, it must also be remembered that such meetings are not enough. It is critical to change household norms that reinforce silence and stigma, and this must be done in a culturally sensitive manner.

Community health workers also need to be trained and provided with adequate resources. ASHA and Anganwadi workers are the most scalable route to PMOS awareness at the community level in India. Accurate, destigmatized reproductive health information and integration of PMOS into existing programs for mothers and adolescents would significantly expand reach. Integrating PMOS-related knowledge should be a policy priority and not an afterthought.

Furthermore, the psychological stress caused by PMOS – Anxiety, fear and stigmatization – must not be viewed as secondary to the physical symptoms. Most women and girls diagnosed with PMOS experience this at some point, and it needs to be addressed, especially in communities where there is little knowledge about mental health and emotional well-being. Finally, it is necessary to address the structural conditions of the food environment in these communities.

The renaming is an important act of scientific reappraisal. But the correction will only go so far as the disease remains unnamed and unrecognized in the communities where its burden is felt most acutely. PMOS is not just a biomedical condition; Rather, it is a socially rooted development concern that sits at the intersection of gender, class, accessibility and silence.

For PMOS to mean anything other than a simple terminological adjustment, there must be investments in diagnostic equity, community-level health education, and political recognition of the fact that reproductive health is critical to development.

A new name is just the beginning; The real work lies in the area of ​​diagnosis. This includes ensuring that women in low-income households have access to ultrasound services and that frontline health workers are trained to recognize symptoms beyond fertility-related concerns. Women should be able to seek medical attention before the condition progresses and causes long-term distress.

For PMOS to mean anything other than a simple terminological adjustment, there must be investments in diagnostic equity, community-level health education, and political recognition that reproductive health is critical to development and not just a silent struggle that disproportionately impacts the most disadvantaged.

Mahliqa Khan holds a Master’s degree in Development from Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, and is a development practitioner, researcher and author with a keen interest in gender, community health and social justice. Through her work in research, policy and grassroots engagement, she explores the lived experiences of women and marginalized communities to advocate for more inclusive and evidence-based development.