Teede Leads Pmos Meaning Renaming After 14 Years

Professor Helena Teede led the change in pmos meaning from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome to Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome after 14 years of global collaboration. The effort was published today in The Lancet, and the new name will be fully implemented in the 2028 International Guideline update.

Helena Teede and pmos meaning

Teede, who is director of Monash University’s Monash Centre for Health Research & Implementation and an endocrinologist at Monash Health, said the old name did not accurately reflect the condition. She said, "What we now know is that there is actually no increase in abnormal cysts on the ovary, and the diverse features of the condition were often unappreciated."

The condition impacts 1 in 8 women worldwide, and more than 170 million women worldwide are affected. The renaming process drew on more than 22,000 survey responses and multiple international workshops with patients and multidisciplinary health professionals.

Global collaboration on Monash name change

More than 50 patient and professional organizations took part in developing the new name, including international collaboration between experts and people with lived experience. Professor Terhi Piltonen served as international co-lead and AE-PCOS Society president, while Anuja Dokras is the society’s executive director and Rachel Morman is chair of Verity (PCOS UK).

Teede said, "The agreed principles of the new name included patient benefit, scientific accuracy, ease of communication, avoidance of stigma, cultural appropriateness and accompanying implementation." She also said, "While international guidelines have advanced awareness and care, a name change was the next critical step towards recognition and improvement in the long-term impacts of this condition."

2028 International Guideline update

The transition period is three years before the new name is fully implemented in the 2028 International Guideline update. Teede said, "This change was driven with and for those affected by the condition and we are proud to have arrived at a new name that finally accurately reflects the complexity of the condition. Make no mistake, this is a landmark moment that will lead to desperately needed worldwide advancements in clinical practice and research."

For patients and clinicians, the immediate change is the wording now being adopted around the condition, while the guideline update sets the point when the new name becomes standard in practice and research.