PCOS, a condition that affects 1 in 10 Canadian women, is being renamed

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a chronic hormonal condition that impacts one in 10 Canadian women, is being renamed to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS).

The announcement was published in the Lancet, which states that the condition affects 170 million women during their reproductive years alone.

The condition can cause a range of symptoms, such as irregular or disrupted menstrual cycles, infertility, excessive facial hair and mental health issues, and “has multisystem health impacts and represents a growing health and economic burden.”

The Endocrine Society, one of more than 50 patient and professional organizations that took part in the process to create the new name, said in a press release that PMOS is “characterized by fluctuations in hormones, with impacts on weight, metabolic and mental health, skin, and the reproductive system.”

“For too long, the name reduced a complex, long-term hormonal or endocrine disorder to a misunderstanding about ‘cysts’ and a focus on ovaries. This contributed to missed diagnoses and inadequate treatment,” according to the press release.

Dr. Roland Antaki, chief of the reproductive endocrinology and fertility division at the University of Montreal’s CHUM hospital, said the name change has been “overdue for a long time.”

“But we know since then that those are not cysts. What we see on the ovaries of many patients with PMOS are follicles, so it’s what contains the egg, and those are well-working follicles.”

As a result, these factors contribute to delayed diagnoses, with “up to 70 per cent of affected individuals remaining undiagnosed — and also contribute to widespread knowledge gaps and patient dissatisfaction,” according to the Lancet.

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“It’s very important for the patient and for the medical community to have a name that reflects the impact of that syndrome,” Antaki said.

He also estimated that it can take more than 10 years before the change from PCOS to PMOS is actualized. 

However, Antaki has hope that it can occur sooner.

“Hopefully, people will forget about the C, because that is the issue and put more emphasis on the other parts of the syndrome,” he said. “It’s something that is here to last.”