Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome: HealthCert GP Update, 2026

Oh, thanks, Campbell, for that once again, lovely introduction.

Um, yes, as Campbell said, tonight we're speaking about polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, which is previously known as PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Um, we'll go through our presentation tonight, starting with looking at our acknowledgment of country.

I'm north of Brisbane, so we will be acknowledging, or I will be acknowledging the Kabi Kabi people as traditional custodians of this land, recognizing their connection to the land, waterways, and community, paying respects to elders past and present.

As Campbell's already, um, outlined, um, I've spent a f- um, a fair amount of time, uh, in general practice, but also education and keeping up to date with guidelines is part of my interest as well.

So this evening we'll be looking at understanding the reason for the name change from PCOS to PMOS, and then we'll be just touching on the diagnosis, management, and treatment guidelines for, uh, PMOS, which is more like a revision rather than anything changing.

But, um, there has been a couple of newer developments in the overall management and the way we look at this particular condition.

So why are we changing the name of what we have known as PCOS? So language has clinical consequences.

The Lancet has published this particular, um, paper outlining the change and introducing the new name, uh, of polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, and the reasons why.

So the paper states that PCOS has become a misleading term.

It's outdated.

Our patients hear cysts, while the science points to a multi-system endocrine, metabolic, and ovarian condition.

So after a lot of consensus and discussion and work groups and analysis, uh, PMOS, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian, um, syndrome, has been selected as the new name, and we'll be speaking about how we're going to address that and also manage our patients with this, with this new, new name.

So it was felt that PCOS actually narrowed the condition to one organ and demonstrated one misleading image.

Um, it suggested pathological cysts, but they're not necessarily increased.

The name also failed to represent the endocrine, metabolic, and psychological features that can be experienced by patients with PMOS, and the confusion with delayed diagnosis, fragmented care, and stigma.

Uh, the reproductive focus can be especially stigmatizing where fertility is culturally sensitive, so that's also something that we need to work towards and be, be aware of.

So renaming PCOS to PMOS is part of the improving the understanding, the clinical care, research coherence, and also policy alignment.

So when a patient says, "Do I have cysts that need treatment?" The ultrasound appearance relates to arrested follicular development, not necessarily pathological ovarian cysts.

So what does the PMOS actually stand for? Polyendocrine refers to multiple interacting endocrine systems, which is our androgens, insulin, neuroendocrine signals, and ovarian hormones.

Some of this we don't fully understand.

We know it exists, but it's, it's something that we need to be mindful of when we're managing patients.

Metabolic covers the insulin resistance and cardiometabolic risk as central rather than incidental.

And from reading through and preparing for this presentation, the cardiometabolic risk, uh, seems to have a higher, uh, profile in terms of management of these patients, especially in our younger years planning to go forward.

The ovarian aspect of PMOS actually captures the endocrine, follicular, and ovulatory dysfunction without saying cysts.