Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) to be renamed after global efforts led by healthcare professionals and those with lived experience

Friday, 30 May 2025 ---- Most experts and those experiencing the potentially debilitating features of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), which affects one in eight women, want greater awareness and a name change to improve care and outcomes.

PCOS symptoms are wide and varied and include challenges with weight management, fertility issues and pregnancy complications, skin and hair changes including acne, hair loss and excess facial hair, and psychological features including depression and anxiety. It also carries increased risks of type 2 diabetes, endometrial cancer, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnoea and fatty liver disease.

A new research paper from Monash University in Australia reveals those involved are keen to overcome the misleading implication that it is only an ovarian or gynaecological condition.

Published in the Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5...), the global initiative to change the name (of which Verity has been a key contributor) involved international online surveys engaging 7708 patients and diverse health professionals from six continents, in 2015 and 2023, alongside face-to-face workshops.

The researchers sought perspectives on awareness of broad clinical features, the name, potential for renaming, advantages and disadvantages of a change, and potential alternative names.

The study demonstrates:

● A substantive improvement from 2015-2023 in awareness of PCOS and its diverse reproductive, cardiometabolic, skin and psychological features, with a positive impact from the Monash led International Guidelines (2018 and 2023), patient resources including the ASKPCOS App, and strong patient advocacy
● Overall 76% of health professionals and 86% of patients supported a name change, noting advantages (up to 90%), and minimal disadvantages (