After more than a decade of consultation, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome has officially been renamed PMOS to better reflect the condition’s hormonal and metabolic impact.
By Kaunda Selisho at The Citizen
A condition affecting roughly one in eight women worldwide has a new name, and health experts, as well as women living with the condition, say the change is long overdue. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) was officially renamed Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) on 12 May 2026.
The change was announced in a paper published in The Lancet and presented at the European Congress of Endocrinology, following a global consensus process spanning more than a decade.
The renaming involved input from over 14 000 patients and clinicians across dozens of countries, as well as more than 50 patient and professional organisations. For many women, including the estimated 2.5 million South Africans living with the condition, it marks a significant shift in how the syndrome is understood, diagnosed, and treated.
Why the old name no longer works
Several women commenting on the change online have said the term “polycystic” was always something of a misnomer. The small follicles visible on ovarian ultrasounds are not true cysts; they are arrested follicles caused by hormonal disruption. More importantly, not all women diagnosed with PCOS have polycystic ovaries, and having polycystic ovaries does not necessarily mean you have the syndrome.
Beyond the inaccuracy, Time reports that the old name kept attention firmly on the ovaries and reproductive function, obscuring the far broader picture.
PMOS is now understood as a condition involving multiple hormonal systems (including insulin, androgens, and neuroendocrine factors) as well as significant metabolic implications, such as insulin resistance, elevated risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and dyslipidaemia.
The narrow framing contributed to delayed diagnoses. Studies suggest up to 70% of people with the condition remain undiagnosed. PCOS care was often fragmented, focused primarily on fertility, and failed to address the full range of symptoms: irregular periods, acne, excess hair growth, hair thinning, anxiety, depression, and long-term cardiometabolic risks.
What changes and what doesn’t
For now, the diagnostic criteria remain the same. Adults are diagnosed when they present with at least two of three features – irregular or absent ovulation, clinical or biochemical signs of excess androgens, and polycystic ovarian morphology on ultrasound or elevated AMH levels – after other conditions have been excluded.
One anticipated shift is that ultrasound scans may become less routine, with blood tests such as AMH (anti-Müllerian hormone) increasingly preferred where appropriate.
The bigger changes are expected in how clinicians approach the condition overall. Experts anticipate earlier and more accurate diagnosis, as the reframing should reduce confusion among both patients and healthcare providers. Rather than being treated as a gynaecological or fertility issue, PMOS is expected to be managed as the complex endocrine-metabolic disorder it is.
This means routine metabolic screening (for insulin resistance, blood sugar and cardiovascular risk) from the point of diagnosis, including in adolescents. It also means moving away from the standard prescription of oral contraceptives as the default first-line treatment, towards more holistic care that addresses the root drivers of the condition.
Lifestyle interventions, including diet, exercise and weight management, are positioned as foundational to treatment. There is also growing interest in metabolic therapies, including GLP-1 receptor agonists (a class of medication also used in the management of type 2 diabetes and obesity), as well as integrated support for mental health and skin-related symptoms.
What this means for South African women
In the South African context, where access to specialist care remains unequal, and stigma around reproductive health can delay help-seeking, PCOS’s name change carries particular weight. By decoupling the condition from its association with fertility and cysts, PMOS may be easier to discuss, diagnose and fund research around, especially in primary healthcare settings.
Full updates to international clinical guidelines are expected by 2028, with a three-year transition period planned for ICD coding, medical education, and public awareness. Local healthcare providers are expected to adapt over this period.
For women who have already been diagnosed with PCOS, nothing changes in terms of their existing diagnosis or treatment, but the reframing offers a more accurate lens through which to understand what they are living with and what comprehensive care should look like.
This article was republished from The Citizen. Read the original here.
READ MORE: PCOS explained: How it affects fertility, reproductive health and excessive hair growth
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