A major international effort to rename polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is drawing attention to one of the most common — and most widely misunderstood — hormonal conditions affecting women worldwide, and what decades of medical language may have obscured in the process.
As of this week, the condition is now being reclassified as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), following a global consensus process led by endocrinology experts and patient advocacy organizations, including the Endocrine Society. The change reflects a broader scientific understanding of the condition as a multisystem disorder that affects metabolic, hormonal, reproductive and mental health — not simply a condition defined by ovarian cysts.
