A global move to rename one of the world’s most common hormonal disorders is being welcomed by UAE doctors, who say the previous term often misled patients, delayed diagnosis, and reduced a complex metabolic condition to “just ovarian cysts”.
Earlier this week, an international coalition of researchers, clinicians, and patient advocacy groups announced that Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) will now be known as Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS), a name experts say better reflects the condition’s broader hormonal and metabolic impact. The disorder affects an estimated 170 million women worldwide and is a leading cause of infertility.
For UAE-based specialists, the change is more than symbolic. “For nearly two decades in clinical practice, I have watched women arrive in my consultation room carrying a diagnosis that was only ever half the story,” Dr Sreelatha Gopalakrishnan, Obstetrics & Gynecology specialist at Almond Blossoms Fertility and Wellbeing Centre told Khaleej Times.
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“The name alone sent everyone, including many doctors, chasing the wrong trail.”
She explained that many women believed the condition was purely linked to ovarian cysts, despite cysts not being present in every patient.
“The follicles we see on ultrasound are not true cysts; they are a secondary feature of a far more complex hormonal disruption,” she said.
According to doctors, the older name often narrowed medical focus to ovarian scans while overlooking deeper hormonal and metabolic issues linked to insulin resistance, weight gain, cardiovascular risks, anxiety, depression, acne, and fertility challenges.
“The real tragedy of the old name was what it obscured,” Dr Gopalakrishnan said. “This condition is fundamentally a disorder of the endocrine system.”
Delayed diagnosis common in region
Doctors in the UAE say delayed diagnosis remains widespread, especially among teenagers and younger women.
“The honest answer is no, not nearly early enough,” Dr Gopalakrishnan said when asked whether young women are being diagnosed in time.
“Every year a young girl’s symptoms are dismissed is a year stolen from her future health, her future fertility, and her future self.”
She noted that many women spend years being told irregular cycles, acne, or weight gain were linked to stress, puberty, or lifestyle habits before eventually discovering they had the condition.
In the UAE and wider region, cultural silence around menstrual health can also prevent early intervention.
“Girls do not always feel safe disclosing symptoms, and families do not always seek early gynaecological assessment,” she said.
Dr Nilusha Vadhwania, Specialist Obstetrics & Gynecology at Aster Speciality Clinic, International City, said many women are only diagnosed after struggling with fertility.
“Delayed diagnosis is very common,” she said. “Many women ignore symptoms like irregular cycles or weight gain for years, and some are diagnosed only when facing fertility issues.”
“Lack of awareness and social stigma around menstrual health continue to play a role.”
Shift beyond fertility focus
Experts say the new term PMOS could help reshape how both doctors and patients approach the condition.
“The proposed change reflects a better understanding of this condition as not just an ovarian disorder, but a wider hormonal and metabolic condition affecting women’s overall health,” Dr Vadhwania said.
She added that the term PMOS encourages a more holistic approach to treatment, including metabolic screening, lifestyle interventions, and mental health support alongside fertility care.
Dr Fathima Thasneem, Specialist Obstetrician & Gynaecologist at Medcare Women & Children Hospital, said the old terminology contributed to fragmented care.
“The term PCOS has been misleading the general public as well as patients by primarily implying pathological ovarian cysts and hence obscuring the core issue of endocrine and metabolic features involved,” she said.
“This led to delayed diagnosis, fragmented care, and stigma.”
She explained that the condition involves disturbances in insulin, androgen, neuroendocrine, and ovarian hormones, contributing to obesity, diabetes, hypertension, acne, anxiety, depression, excessive hair growth, and fertility problems.
“The patient outlook also should shift from ‘having a cyst or not’ to dealing with it as a multisystem condition which needs lifestyle interventions and a structured holistic medical approach,” Dr Thasneem said.
‘Not just a fertility story’
Doctors also hope the name change will help reduce misconceptions surrounding fertility and reproductive health.
“The word ‘cyst’ often caused unnecessary fear and misunderstanding,” Dr Vadhwania said.
“Importantly, many women with PMOS can conceive naturally or with proper treatment.”
For fertility specialists, the rename could also encourage earlier conversations around ovulation, insulin resistance, and long-term reproductive planning.
“Anovulatory infertility is one of the most treatable causes of subfertility we have, but only when it is correctly identified and managed,” Dr Gopalakrishnan said.
She added that women should not view the transition as medicine “changing its mind”, but rather as science finally recognising the full scope of the condition.
“This is medicine finally finding the courage to tell the truth,” she said.
Under the international plan, the transition from PCOS to PMOS will take place gradually over the next three years, with the updated terminology expected to be integrated into clinical guidelines and healthcare systems by 2028.
Source: Khaleej Times