{"id":796722,"date":"2026-08-01T04:13:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T04:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/796722\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T04:13:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T04:13:02","slug":"why-one-of-the-most-common-womens-health-disorders-now-has-a-new-name-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/796722\/","title":{"rendered":"Why one of the most common women\u2019s health disorders now has a new name \u2013 Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most common hormone disorders affecting women has a new name, and local physicians say the change could help patients receive earlier diagnoses and better treatment.<\/p>\n

Polycystic ovary syndrome, which affects about one in eight women worldwide, has been renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome after an international consortium concluded the old name overstated the role of ovarian cysts while understating the disorder\u2019s broader effects on hormones and metabolism.<\/p>\n

Experts emphasized that the new name doesn\u2019t change the diagnosis or available treatments immediately. Instead, they hope it helps patients and physicians better understand that the condition affects hormones, metabolism and overall health \u2013 not just the ovaries.<\/p>\n

Sarah Clevenger, 43, of Bolingbrook<\/a>, who was diagnosed at age 26 with PCOS, said the new name PMOS is \u201cmore encompassing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had every textbook symptom,\u201d Clevenger said, \u201cexcept the ovarian cysts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome \u201cis characterized by fluctuations in hormones, with impacts on weight, metabolic and mental health, skin and the reproductive system, according to the Endocrine Society.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/p>\n

Dr. Arati Reddy is a board-certified endocrinologist at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook. (Photo provided by UChicago Medicine AdventHealth )<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s appropriate,\u201d Dr. Arati Reddy, a board-certified endocrinologist at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook, said of the name change. \u201cI\u2019m not sure any of us thought of PCOS as an ovarian disease to begin with. All the data shows it\u2019s a metabolic disorder, more than ovarian manifestations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Gamilah Pierre, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist and a longtime staff member of Silver Cross Hospital<\/a> in New Lenox<\/a>, agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a great idea,\u201d Pierre said. \u201cThe reason for the name change is because PCOS oversimplified the condition. And it overemphasized the ovarian cysts and underemphasized the multi-system issue that it really is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/p>\n

Dr. Gamilah Pierre is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, a longtime staff member of Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox. (Photo provided by Silver Cross Hospital)<\/p>\n

Although no single test exists to diagnose PMOS, diagnosis is made when a woman has at least two of these three symptoms: absent or irregular (including heavy and\/or lengthy) menstrual periods; polycystic ovaries as shown on ultrasound; and high androgens, either through elevated blood levels or the following signs: severe or stubborn acne and\/or oily skin, excessive facial and\/or body hair and hair loss on head.<\/p>\n

PMOS also may cause acanthosis nigricans, which are dark, thick velvety skin patches in the body\u2019s creases.<\/p>\n

Reddy stressed that the ovarian cysts associated with PMOS are not pathological ovarian cysts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re just arrested follicles,\u201d Reddy said. \u201cImplying that disease state was probably not accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pierre said the name change will make it easier to explain to patients that removing the cysts won\u2019t cure the syndrome.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a surgical disease,\u201d Pierre said. \u201cThis is a metabolic disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

Women with PMOS are at risk for infertility, gestational diabetes, pregnancy-induced hypertension, insulin resistance, prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, weight gain (especially around the abdomen) and obesity, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (commonly known as fatty liver disease), sleep apnea and endometrial hyperplasia (abnormal growth in the uterine lining) or endometrial cancer, depression and anxiety.<\/p>\n

For Clevenger, the most devastating part of her diagnosis was being told she\u2019d never get pregnant and then spent 12 years \u201ctrying to reconcile to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were just told it would not happen until we did IVF, and we just thought, \u2018OK,\u2019 and then moved into pursuing adoption. And that was the end of it,\u201d Clevenger said. \u201cNo, \u2018These are the things you can do to manage your PCOS and control it.\u2019 I just had to deal with it, basically.\u201d<\/p>\n

But then Clevenger moved to Illinois<\/a>, which \u201cchanged everything, honestly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy OB said, \u2018You can absolutely get pregnant. You need to see a reproductive endocrinologist,\u2019\u201d Clevenger said. \u201cAnd then she got me a referral for one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clevenger now has two children ages 6 and 2. She manages her overall symptoms with two supplements, a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet and advocating for herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely find a doctor who will listen,\u201d Clevenger said.<\/p>\n

\"Sarah<\/p>\n

Sarah Clevenger, 43, of Bolingbrook was diagnosed at age 26 with polycystic ovary syndrome and feels the syndrome’s name change to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome in 2026 better defines the syndrome. (Photo provided by Sarah Clevenger)<\/p>\n

Pierre said the name PMOS will help primary care providers recognize PMOS as a multisystem issue and not merely a gynecological issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something that affects your entire life and health,\u201d Pierre said.<\/p>\n

This can \u201creally move the needle for people to get diagnosed sooner,\u201d as well as open doors for proper funding, research and care,” she said.<\/p>\n

Pierre said delayed diagnoses are missed opportunities to check insulin levels or precancerous linings in the uterus and address struggles with weight. They might need fertility treatments; they might have fatty livers.<\/p>\n

Treatment might differ for patients in their 20s than for post-menopausal patients or for patients with long menstrual cycles versus patients who menstruate only several times a year, Pierre said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sooner we realize that every patient is different with PMOS. Then how we treat them depends on where they\u2019re at in life and their needs and goals,\u201c Pierre said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the most common hormone disorders affecting women has a new name, and local physicians say the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":796723,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[338098,16655,40830,97,252,271235,253,5629,267062,39636,314811,72256,292711,17799,314812,338100,14059,5182,61547,314814,259,207960,38753,338099,123992],"class_list":["post-796722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-bolingbrook","tag-dekalb-county","tag-dekalb-county-front-headlines","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-health-care-team","tag-healthcare","tag-illinois","tag-illinois-valley-front-headlines","tag-kane-county","tag-kane-county-front-headlines","tag-kankakee-county","tag-kankakee-county-front-headlines","tag-kendall-county","tag-kendall-county-front-headlines","tag-la-salle-county","tag-lake-county","tag-lee-county","tag-mchenry-county","tag-mchenry-county-front-headlines","tag-mental-health","tag-new-lenox","tag-sauk-valley-front-headlines","tag-silver-cross-hospital","tag-will-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=796722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=796722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=796722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=796722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}