PCOS Got A New Name, One Experts Hope Will Change How Women Receive Care
Chances are you know someone with polycysitc ovary syndrome, or PCOS — it affects roughly 10% to 13% of women of reproductive age (or anyone with ovaries), according to the World Health Organization, though many who suffer with it go undiagnosed. But a change to the condition’s name, published yesterday in The Lancet, aims to change that. Thanks to the work of numerous international women’s health organizations and patient advocacy groups, PCOS will now be known as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, or PMOS.
A consortium of 56 academic, clinical, and patient organizations surveyed nearly 15,000 people living with the condition and doctors who treat it about their experiences. Experts and patients alike agreed that the name PCOS was simply not accurate, and that is a massive problem for people trying to get better.
“The term PCOS is inaccurate, implying pathological ovarian cysts, obscuring diverse endocrine and metabolic features, and contributing to delayed diagnosis, fragmented care, and stigma, while curtailing research and policy framing,” the paper reads. “The condition formerly known as PCOS now has a new name: polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome.”
The new name was chosen because it eliminated the idea that cysts must be present for diagnoses, and because it captured the “endocrine, metabolic, and ovarian dysfunction” that define the syndrome — and often the lives of those living with it.
Dr. Helena Teede, an endocrinologist, professor of women’s health at Monash University in Australia, and the lead author of the paper, told The New York Times that when a condition is viewed as affecting a particular organ, all the funding, education, and treatment guidelines focus on that organ. In the case of PCOS, that meant the ovaries.
However, PMOS is a disorder of the endocrine system. While it can cause gynecological symptoms, like irregular periods and difficulty getting pregnant, it can also lead to excess hair growth, acne, unexplained weight gain, and more. Importantly, it can increase the risk of developing chronic health conditions, like Type 2 diabetes, endometrial cancer, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure. Changing the name of the condition will allow more funding to be put toward research into how PMOS is connected to these health conditions, and make clear to doctors worldwide that patients diagnosed with PMOS should be referred to specialists in these areas too — not just OB-GYNs.
The paper’s authors and countless contributors to the new name hope that by accurately describing PMOS, better care, treatments, and outcomes will now be possible for the estimated 170 million individuals who live with this syndrome.
“This change has global implications for health-care systems, policy, and research, and for advancing understanding and treatment of the condition,” the paper concludes. “Overall goals include greater awareness, enhanced diagnosis, improved care quality and patient satisfaction, and optimised outcomes across the broad features of the condition.”
source https://www.scarymommy.com/lifestyle/pcos-got-a-new-name-one-doctors-hope-will-change-how-women-receive-care
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