PRAGUE — Polycystic ovary syndrome has been renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome following more than a decade of global consultation, experts announced at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague on Tuesday. The renaming was published in the Lancet and followed 14 years of collaboration between international societies and patient groups across six continents.

The condition affects an estimated 170 million women worldwide, or roughly one in eight women. It causes infertility, acne, excessive hair growth, obesity and irregular periods, and increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Research has found the condition is caused by an imbalance of insulin and androgen hormones, affecting metabolic, mental, skin and reproductive health. Up to 70% of women with the condition go undiagnosed.

The new name is intended to better reflect the condition's nature, affecting the reproductive system, metabolism, and risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Prof Helena Teede, director of Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation in Melbourne, spearheaded the renaming effort, which involved 56 medical and patient societies worldwide. Doctors initially thought of the condition as a disease of the ovaries when it was named in 1935. Academic articles have discussed renaming it since 1995, and a 2012 forum run by the US National Institutes of Health recommended a change.

Teede said the term PCOS didn't capture the 'multi-system burden that people with this condition have suffered', and that it 'directs attention to only one organ.' She also noted that while "'reproductive' may be a more accurate direct term to cover all of the abnormalities in the ovary, endometrium and reproductive health during pregnancy, it also carries very significant stigma."

Lorna Berry, who has advocated for better education about PCOS for more than 25 years and served as a global consumer representative in workshops deciding on the name change, said: "I've felt an equal in discussions with medical experts deciding on the new name."

Dr Iman Saleh, an OB/GYN and director of obesity medicine, said the previous name had narrowed clinical focus. "PCOS had been treated primarily as a gynecological disease focusing on ovarian cysts," Saleh said. "If you didn't have a cyst or the ovary was not enlarged, you could be misdiagnosed or spend years without a diagnosis." She added: "Now we can focus on long-term impacts of these hormonal fluctuations beyond fertility and menstruation issues."