The name of this health condition was 'very inaccurate'. Now it's changed

About one in eight women have the complex lifelong condition. (Pexels) Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has a new name: polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS). Women's health experts say the new name is more scientifically accurate and reflects that PMOS doesn't just affect fertility; it can lead to a number of metabolic and mental health conditions throughout life. Women's health experts and advocates with lived experience say the new name will mean fewer misdiagnosises and better treatment. Link copiedShareShare articleAfter 14 years of research and 22,000 survey responses, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has officially been renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS). PMOS, a common hormonal and metabolic disorder affecting 170 million women worldwide, can lead to infertility, metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, and mental health issues. The renaming initiative, led by Helena Teede, director of the Monash Centre for Health Research Implementation, was announced today at the 8th European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague and published in respected journal The Lancet. Professor Teede said the condition's "very inaccurate" previous name reduced the complex, lifelong condition to a misunderstanding about "cysts", with disproportionate focus on the ovaries. Helena Teede has led numerous large studies on the condition. (Supplied: Monash University) New research published this week, co-authored by Professor Teede, showed women with PMOS did not, in fact, have a higher rate of abnormal ovarian cysts than women without the condition. She said the new name, which emphasised the condition's hormonal and metabolic impacts, would mean fewer misdiagnoses and better treatment for those with the condition. "Not only will it move away from that inaccurate cyst implication and the focus on the ovaries, it will actually get people to understand the broader nature of the condition, that it is an endocrine or hormonal imbalance condition. "It will validate what a lot of women know and experience." Women can be diagnosed with the condition if they have two out of three of the following symptoms: Professor Teede said although the name had changed, these categories would remain the same. However, she added, recommendations about using ultrasound to detect cysts might change in future guidelines, given the findings that women with PMOS were no more likely to have ovarian cysts than women without the condition. Despite what the name suggests, women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) do not have a higher rate of abnormal ovarian cysts than the general population, a large study shows. Terhi Piltonen, lead author of the cyst study and professor in obstetrics and gynaecology at Finland's University of Oulu, was part of the team behind the global push for a new name. She said the aim of the project was to improve patient care. In addition to issues with fertility, many women with the condition have a higher prevalence of central obesity and insulin resistance, which is associated with an increased long-term risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. PMOS can also have an adverse impact on a women's mental health and wellbeing. "With the name change we hope to capture better the true nature of the syndrome, involve more health professionals to identify the affected persons and take better care of them," Professor Piltonen said. Patient advocate Lorna Berry was a teenager when she started showing symptoms of PMOS but wasn't diagnosed until the age of 32. "If a doctor, rather than telling me to starve myself had asked some curious questions, there could have been earlier intervention," she said. Lorna Berry (left), with daughters Samantha and Grace, played a key role in the renaming process. (Supplied: Lorna Berry) On a practical level, Ms Berry said a more scientifically accurate name helped reframe the condition from a reproductive one to a hormonal one. This shift, she said, meant doctors would hopefully consider a PMOS diagnosis when patients presented with a mix of fluctuating hormones, weight changes, skin issues and mental health concerns. Hannah Bambra, who is 34 and lives with PMOS agreed. "While one little letter change might not seem like a huge deal for people who don't have this condition, I hope it results in a big shift in thinking for the medical world," she said. Hannah Bambra lives with PMOS, which has affected her fertility. (Supplied: Hannah Bambra) Magdalena Simonis, a practising GP and women's health expert from the University of Melbourne, submitted a survey response in support of the proposed name change on behalf of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Dr Simonis said many patients were diagnosed when they were of reproductive age and struggled to conceive. But childless women often fell through the cracks and missed out on being diagnosed, which meant that they

The name of this health condition was 'very inaccurate'. Now it's changed

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