Overview
- The international consensus published in The Lancet, unveiled on Tuesday, May 12 at the European Congress of Endocrinology, formally renames PCOS to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome.
- The new term signals that the condition is a hormonal and metabolic disorder rather than a problem of ovarian cysts, which are often immature follicles seen on ultrasound.
- Diagnosis and standard treatments stay the same for now, but experts urge routine checks for insulin resistance, blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure.
- A three-year rollout aims to update global guidelines and disease coding by 2028, with adoption expected to vary across countries, health systems and insurers.
- The Monash-led process included more than 14,000 patients and clinicians across 56 groups, and supporters say the reframing could reduce stigma and help the roughly one in eight women affected get diagnosed sooner.