Full transcript
0:00If you've been told you have PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome,
0:03I've got an important announcement for you. The name of your condition
0:07has changed. It's taken decades and honestly, it's about time.
0:18I'm Dr. Dr. Laura Shaheen, a double board certified OB/GYN and reproductive endocrinologist
0:22taking care of patients for almost 20 years, begging for a change in the name of the condition
0:29we currently know as PCOS or polycystic ovarian syndrome for years and it has finally come. Why
0:37is this important? Because PCOS is so much more than just an ovarian syndrome and the new name
0:45finally reflects that. I am so excited about this name change. I think it will help decrease time
0:51to diagnosis. It'll decrease less confusion. I'm hoping it leads to more research in this.
0:57I truly am hopeful for the future for people that have this condition and I can't wait to
1:03tell you all about it. If this is your first time finding this channel, welcome. I am so
1:08glad that you're here. Be sure and follow so you get my regular reproductive health information
1:13videos and education. There are two other ways to learn from me and stay in touch. One is my weekly
1:19newsletter. The link is in the description below. And second is my Brave and Curious podcast. This
1:25is a podcast you can listen to anywhere you listen to your podcast. You can see the playlist here on
1:30my YouTube channel. It's an incredible deep dive interviews with experts and have a lot of content
1:36about PCOS that we should now be calling by its new name. But I'm really hopeful that I can teach
1:42you, educate you, and I'm just so glad that you're here. So, what happened? On May 12th, 2026, the
1:49Lancet, an internationally wellrecoognized medical journal, announced a new name for PCOS, polycystic
1:57ovarian syndrome, is now to be referred to as PMOS, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome.
2:07Only one letter has changed in the acronym, but the new name is so much more inclusive.
2:14This is no small announcement. This effort led by professor Helena Ted at Manashe University in
2:20Australia alongside leaders from international androgen excess society, the PCOS society,
2:28uh multiple international groups and professional organizations and patients all came together
2:34to decide this was the right move. More than 14,000 people weighed in with clinical surveys,
2:41online surveys. This was not just a snap decision. It was a really big effort. Why does this matter?
2:48Because PMOS impacts 1 in eight women worldwide. That's over 170 million people. And this condition
2:57impacts more than ovaries. And it's more than important just in your reproductive years. It
3:03can impact metabolism, mental health, weight, skin conditions, cardiovascular risk, risk for
3:10diabetes. And yes, of course, it's important for fertility, but again, it's so much more than that.
3:15For almost a hundred years, we've been calling it something that didn't fit this inclusive condition
3:22that we now know so much more about. Today, I'm going to walk you through six topics. Topic
3:26number one, how PCOS got its new name. Topic number two, what this actually means. Like,
3:32why does it matter? Topic number three, how the change actually occurred. Like, the mechanisms and
3:37the actual feat that happened is amazing. Topic number four, what the new name PM OS actually
3:43means. Topic number five, what happens next? Topic number six, what gives me hope about the future
3:49with this new name? Now, stick around to the end where I will give you three top tips for how to
3:55talk to your provider about this new name and what this actually can mean for your current and
4:01future health. Topic number one, PCOS. This name, where did it come from? So to understand the name
4:07change and what this means, we have to go back to 1935. And two surgeons that were doing surgery on
4:14women with irregular periods, signs of extra androgen or male hormone excess, and a couple
4:20other signs and symptoms were looking at ovaries when they were doing surgery on these women,
4:25and they saw that their ovaries looked a little bit different than people without this collection
4:30of signs and symptoms. their ovaries had lots of lumpy, bumpy looking sort of cystlike structures
4:37on the outside. And so these two surgeons, Dr. Irvingstein and Dr. Michael Levventhal,
4:44named this condition polycystic ovarian syndrome based on what ovaries look like during surgery.
4:51This condition was called Stein Levventhol condition or syndrome for a number of years
4:57until finally it was renamed PCOS or polycystic ovarian syndrome based on what these two surgeons
5:03saw at surgery. But here's the catch. What they were seeing is not technically cysts. I mean yes
5:08cysts are fluid fil structures in the body. They were seeing just a lot of resting follicles that
5:13were sitting on the surface of the ovary trying to ovulate and release an egg. And there's research
5:20after research that shows that people with PCOS don't technically have a higher risk of
5:25pathological cysts or increased risk of ovarian cysts or what we think about as harmful. This
5:32name though is so confusing. This complex lifelong hormonal condition really got narrowed down into
5:40something that these guys just saw during surgery. But that leads into topic number two. Why did this
5:47cause so much harm? Like why does this name change matter? Because the name of polycystic
5:52ovarian syndrome really laser focuses in on the word cysts which can sometimes make people really
5:58nervous. My patients are so nervous when they hear, "Oh my gosh, I have multiple cysts in my
6:03ovaries." This is something pathological and bad. I've wanted to rename PCOS for years. I wanted to
6:09call it polyfilicular ovarian syndrome or poly egg ovarian syndrome and just take the word cyst out
6:16of it because again we think of cyst as something so negative and these are just little fluid fil
6:21structures. As I talk to my patients, like this is one of the reasons that a lot of people with PCOS
6:25have irregular and unpredictable menstrual cycles because they're not ovulating regularly. And then
6:30these little follicles just kind of end up on the surface of the ovary, but they're not pathological
6:35or abnormal or harmful cysts that we often think of. And so this name first of all made people
6:43really anxious, made people confused, and then it really didn't focus in on the complex nature
6:50and the inclusiveness of the disease itself or the condition itself. This is a poly hormonal or
6:56polyindocrine, a metabolic condition that impacts so much of our system, but we laser focused in on
7:05it on, oh, it's just an ovary issue and it's just only important when you're trying to get pregnant
7:12and it can impact fertility. This is true, but it's a small piece of the puzzle. And so, this
7:18name really led to confusion. It led to delay in diagnosis and it led to doctors and patients kind
7:27of forgetting about it after their reproductive years. But we know that PCOS is lifelong and can
7:33lead to long-term issues like increased risk of mental health issues like anxiety, depression,
7:39increased risk of type 2 diabetes, increased risk of cardiovascular disease. I have an excellent
7:45YouTube video here all about lifelong risks of PCOS and an important message I'm trying to get
7:51out there is that PCOS is more than a fertility issue. It's more than a issue that we think should
7:57only think about in our reproductive years. Um so watch that video and this new name PMOS
8:04really embraces this multi-organ multi-faceted multi-endocrine condition. And so it's so so
8:15important. I'm so happy about this name change. Topic number three, how did this name change
8:19actually happen? I have been caring for people for almost 20 years with PCOS. I've been begging for a
8:26name change and actually trying to use a different name with my own patients, but I'm just one doctor
8:31in Seattle. I like can't enact this incredible international name change. So how did it happen?
8:38It's really started about 14 years ago with this professor Helena Ted at Manashe University in
8:43Australia. She started a consortium which would eventually be called the global name change
8:49consortium. She worked with other professors and other doctors from multiple different countries
8:55to come together to try to make this happen. They brought in 56 leading academic, clinical,
9:00and patient organizations to get on board. They surveyed over 14,000 patients and clinicians on
9:07their feelings about a name change. And when they did the survey, they found that 86% of surveyed
9:13patients and 71% of health care professionals supported having a new name to PCOS. Most
9:20people who have the condition or who take care of people with the condition realized that the
9:25old name was causing harm. So when they realized that the majority of people wanted a new name,
9:30then they set to figuring out what that new name would be and they wanted to adhere to five
9:35important principles. Number one, the new name had to be scientifically accurate. Number two,
9:40it had to be clear. Number three, it had to reduce stigma. Number four, it had to translate well
9:46across cultures and languages. And number five, it had to be realistic to implement globally. So
9:5414 years, six continents, dozens of organizations, thousands of patient voices, and an evidence-based
10:01process brought together the new name. That is how you change something this big. Topic number four,
10:08the new name P M O S. What does it mean? So let's break it down. P polyendocrine. Poly
10:14means multiple. Endocrine means hormones. This is a condition that impacts multiple hormones across
10:22your body. We're talking androgens, insulin, antimmalarian hormone, and the multiple complex
10:28interactions between them. Metabolic. This is huge. This part of the new name really delves
10:34into something that clinicians like me have realized for years. This condition is strongly
10:40tied to insulin function, metabolic health, cardiovascular risk, and weight regulation.
10:46Putting metabolic in this new name really signals to patients, researchers, people who fund research
10:54that metabolism is a huge part of this condition. This is not just a reproductive issue. This is
11:00something that is lifelong and impacts overall health and well-being. O is for ovarian. So, it's
11:06staying true to the point that the ovary is really important in this. And I think keeping this in the
11:11name also makes it easier to change. So it's easy to go from an acronym that is PCOS to P MOS and
11:22then S the last one is syndrome. Syndrome means it's multiple clinical signs and symptoms that
11:28come together to give a diagnosis of a condition. Now the diagnostic criteria is essentially staying
11:34the same. You have to have two out of three conditions or signs or symptoms. Number one,
11:39irregular and unpredictable menstrual cycles due to irregular and unpredictable ovulation. Number
11:45two, signs of elevated androgens. Androgens are male hormones. So, this can be labs that show high
11:50levels of androgens. Or clinically, you can have high levels of androgens showing up in acne. Um,
11:57excessive hair growth, especially centrally, or hair loss, especially in a male pattern like on
12:03the top of your head or kind of at the um at the forehead. sort of uh male pattern baldness. And
12:10finally, the third is high follicles that are kind of up for grabs. Either a high antral follicle
12:16count on an ultrasound um seeing lots and lots of follicles on those ovaries or you can do a blood
12:23test called AMH or antimmalarian hormone. And if that is above average for your age, that can be
12:29another clue. So the name shift is important. You don't even necessarily need to see ovaries
12:34on ultrasound to still get the clinical diagnosis and it opens the door for treatments to evolve.
12:41Noting that this is multiple endocrine, you know, or hormones involved. Noting that the metabolism
12:47piece is important, it allows us to focus on different treatments and different research in
12:52order to truly help anyone with this condition. So, topic number five, what's next? Well,
12:58this takes time. Change takes time. I bet a lot of providers for people with women sitting in their
13:06office with PCOS are not even going to be aware of this change yet. And so there's a three-year
13:13grace period worldwide where people can still use the terms PCOS and PMOS interchangeably. Um,
13:21you know, insurance and billing takes time to get new language, you know, updated. Um, of course,
13:28clinical research is going to need to have some time to kind of use both terms interchangeably.
13:34So, there's a three-year grace period where you could say PCOS or PMOS. So, a few important
13:40things to realize in this transition period. Just because the name has changed, that doesn't mean
13:45that your diagnosis has changed. Your diagnosis is still valid. Nothing has to change in your
13:51medical records going backwards. Your treatment plan doesn't change overnight. your medications,
13:56your strategies, your doctors can still stay the same. You really don't need to do anything
14:01administrative or take action right now. It's all about awareness and the future of this condition
14:09and sort of help that people might have. If you're new to this and you recently are being evaluated
14:15or kind of getting this diagnosis, you might see the term PMOS in your medical records instead of
14:22PCOS. Topic number six, why I am so excited about this and why I'm hopeful about this name change
14:29for the future. I want to be honest with you about something. As a reproductive endocrinologist and
14:34someone who's helped women with endocrine issues, fertility for almost two decades,
14:40I have sat across from women that are so tired of feeling dismissed, confused about their diagnosis,
14:48really locking into the ovarian piece of this and not understanding that being diagnosed with PCOS
14:55in their reproductive years is a huge window into their current health if they happen to
15:00be in midlife or later or their future health. I think this name change is going to dramatically
15:07allow more education about this topic and this condition. When I see this happening,
15:14I get emotional because I think it's going to make providers and patients pay more attention to this
15:21overall impact of this condition. I think it's hopeful and I'm hoping people will get diagnosed
15:27sooner. I hope people will get more education about this, the insulin impact of this condition,
15:33the overall wellness, the mental health aspects, the skin changes that can happen with this,
15:39the future risk of diabetes in cardiovascular disease. I am truly hopeful that the name change
15:45will lead to more education and better and well living for people in the future once they know
15:52they have this disease. Another aspect I truly hope this sparks more interest more funding of
16:00research and a more collaborative approach to this condition in medicine for so long and you
16:06know what I was taught in medical school and a lot of my training at UCSF and Stanford even
16:11later PCOS was really kind of in my wheelhouse as a reproductive endocrinologist. It was, you know,
16:17focused on ovaries, focused on people who are trying to get pregnant and fertility and fertility
16:22treatment. And, you know, we are the experts in it truly, but we only usually follow people for
16:30a very short time in their overall life. And I do try to educate my patients as soon as we get a
16:37diagnosis. I'm like, "Hey, this is not something that we're just going to focus on as I'm trying
16:40to help you have a baby. This is something you got to think about and tell all of your doctors in the
16:44future that you have this." But I know and this is human nature, you know, people can forget about
16:50it pretty easily. You know, they know that they need to focus on it, then they get pregnant, they
16:54have the baby, and then they're postpartum and like, you know, there's just so much going on in
16:58life. But I am hoping with this name change that internists, family medicine providers, you know,
17:06all these other aspects of medicine will kind of come together like the regular endocrinologists
17:13that really focus on diabetes. I hope and they do sometimes get patients uh with PCOS. I hope that
17:20they can see this overall connection that people in my field have seen for years. That is why I
17:27am hopeful. I'm hopeful that people get diagnosed faster, they learn more about the overall pieces
17:33of this condition, that funding increases and more research happens, and that honestly people
17:38live healthier lives. Words and language shape medical care and so better naming more accurate
17:47words in the diagnosis I hope to leads to better medical care. Now let's recap. Big announcement in
17:55Lancet Medical Journal May 2026 PCOS polycystic ovarian syndrome has a new name PMOS that is
18:04more inclusive about the multiple endocrine and hormones that are involved. the metabolic piece,
18:11which is important, and ovary is still in the name, but we took out that scary word cyst because
18:18it didn't ever make sense. This was an incredible feat of international medical societies, patients,
18:26healthcare providers, academics coming together to make this big decision. And I am hopeful for
18:31the future for better understanding of this condition and more research and funding to
18:36help people live healthier lives. I'm glad you stuck around to the end of this video because
18:40I want to share some really important points to talk to your doctor about this condition because
18:46there's a real chance that your doctor might not actually know about this update yet. So,
18:52here are three questions to ask your doctor. Question number one, beyond my condition and just
18:58reproductive care, what should we be monitoring and thinking about my overall health and wellness
19:03with this PMOS condition? Question number two, my understanding is that PMOS is a condition that's
19:11affecting multiple hormones and has a real metabolic piece to it. With that information,
19:17should we be targeting insulin resistance and looking at other metabolic issues for my overall
19:24health and sort of the big picture? And question number three, I know that this is an ongoing,
19:30you know, update and over the next three years, we're probably going to learn a lot more,
19:34but what can I think about over the next three years as far as bringing symptoms to you tests
19:39that we could do to kind of look at my metab metabolic health um and updates along the way.
19:45Let's really partner in this. And so, be patient with your doctor. if they are an empathetic,
19:51compassionate provider and they're listening to you. If they haven't heard about this,
19:56it just really does take time to get the message out there. Um, so you might be the
20:00first person telling them about this, but I want it to be a hopeful conversation and um,
20:05allow them a little bit of time to kind of see how they can piece together the best care plan for
20:10you. And guess what? If they are not interested, if they dismiss this update from you, this is
20:17probably not the right provider for you. if you really have this diagnosis and it's okay to get
20:21a second opinion. I hope this video was helpful for you. I hope you learned a lot. Like this
20:27video if you learned something. Share this video with your friend or loved one with PCOS now POS
20:35because this impacts them. Be sure and subscribe to this channel so that you get my regular
20:42reproductive health updates. Don't forget about the newsletter. The link is in the description
20:47below. And don't forget about my incredible podcast. Until next time, stay brave and curious.