A hormonal disorder that affects millions of women worldwide has now been renamed. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, better known as PCOS, a leading cause of infertility for many, will now be known as Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome or PMOS.
Why was PCOS renamed?
Researchers and medical experts say the name of the hormonal disorder was renamed to improve diagnosis and care.
The new name, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, or
PMOS was chosen by a global coalition of patients, clinicians, and medical organisations to better reflect the conditions' wide-ranging hormonal and metabolic impacts, according to a report in The Lancet published to coincide with a presentation at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), PCOS affects an estimated 10–13 per cent of reproductive-aged women. It is estimated that up 70 per cent of women with PCOS worldwide do not know they have this condition.
This hormonal disorder occurs when inappropriate hormonal signaling leads to higher-than-normal androgen levels, often called male hormones, and other hormonal imbalances. As a result, women with PCOS may experience irregular or infrequent menstrual periods, pain – including pain with heavy menstrual bleeding, abnormal ovulation, excessive facial hair or body hair, female-pattern baldness, oilier skin, acne and/or cysts in the ovaries.
The name polycystic ovary syndrome often leads women and their clinicians to mistakenly associate it with ovarian cysts, which are not necessarily present in every patient, Dr. Terhi Piltonen of the University of Oulu in Finland wrote in a research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers also mentioned that the consensus to rename the condition was based on more than 14,000 survey responses from patients and
health professionals worldwide, as well as two international workshops and input from 56 academic, clinical, and patient organisations.
While the condition is not curable, experts say the symptoms are treatable with medications and changes in diet and exercise.
