Teede Renames PCOS to Pmos After 14 Years
pmos is the new name for polycystic ovary syndrome after a 14-year global consultation led by Helena Teede. The change, published in the Lancet and announced in Prague on Tuesday, is meant to replace a label that has confused patients and doctors for decades.
For people who have been told they have PCOS, the rename does not change the condition itself. It does change the language around a disorder that affects one in eight women and is estimated to impact 170 million women worldwide.
Teede’s 14-year push
Teede, an endocrinologist and director of Melbourne’s Monash Centre for Health Research & Implementation, spearheaded the effort with international societies and patient groups across six continents. She said the old term sent the wrong signal, especially because people can receive the diagnosis without ovaries that look polycystic.
“There are no abnormal cysts in PCOS.”
She also said the new name “moves away from the incorrect focus on cysts … to recognising this is a much broader condition”.
Maddy Mavrikis and the old label
Maddy Mavrikis, who was diagnosed at 15, said the terminology never fit her own case. “I never had – and still don’t have – cysts on my ovaries, so never really understood why I was diagnosed with ‘polycystic ovaries’.”
Her GP first told her she would probably never have children, but she later learned that was not true. Her case also shows why the old name caused practical confusion: a blood test showed high levels of androgens, and her symptoms included acne and excessive hair growth.
PMOS and the diagnosis gap
The new name, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, is intended to reflect the reproductive system, metabolism, and the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. That shift matters because experts say the word “polycystic” contributed to delayed diagnosis and inadequate medical care.
Teede’s group also points to the fact that about 85% of women with PCOS have insulin resistance, even though the syndrome can present without the ovarian cysts many people assume are required. The diagnosis gap is the friction point here: the label was narrow, while the condition reaches far beyond the ovaries.
The remaining question is how quickly clinics, patient records, and public-facing materials will adopt PMOS now that the scientific name has changed.
