Emirati consultant supports name-change of PCOS to PMOS

An Emirati Reproductive Medicine consultant supports the landmark name-change of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a leading global cause of women infertility, to Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS).

The “PCOS to PMOS” is based on the May 12, 2026 “The Lancet” publication of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council-backed 14-year international study – “The Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian sybdrome, the new name for polycystic ovary syndrome: a multistep global consensus process.

The research involving 10,411 PCOS patients and 3,949 multidisciplinary professionals was carried out by medical doctors and academicians from Australia, US, UK, India, China, and Finland.

Lead was Monash University-Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation (Victoria) director Professor Helena Teede.

Practitioners worldwide had long been engaged in discussions concerning the term “PCOS.” From their individual and collective observational data, “PCOS” is erroneous.

From Al Ain, Dr. Nahla Abdul Razzaq Kazim, 25 years in Reproductive Medicine, because she had observed a “gap” that needed to be addressed 26 years back, amidst reproductive health and infertility challenges, said: “The recent landmark decision by global experts to rename PCOS to PMOS is long overdue and highly necessary paradigm shift.”

“For decades, the term ‘Polycystic Ovary Syndrome’ has been misleading, focusing primarily on the ovarian cysts – which are actually just a symptom and not present in all patients – while ignoring profound nature of the condition,” added the founder/chief executive officer of the Kazim’s Fertility Barza, who also explained that Reproductive Medicine used to be an Obstetrics and Gynaecology “subspecialty.”

From a family of physicians and an aunt is the UAE’s first obstetrician-gynaecologist, Dr. Zainab Kazim, she pointed out that PMOS – with an emphasis on “metabolic” and polyendocrine” – demonstrates that what used to be PCOS – characterised by hormonal imbalance and thus the irregularity of monthly menstruation – is a “complex metabolic and endocrine disorder, not just a gynaecological issue,” or women’s health.

The re-naming, argued the Al Ain-based ART Fertility Clinic-Community Relations director, “shifts the clinical focus towards the broader health risks” which include “insulin resistance, Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome.”

For Kazim, said the name-change “mitigates the problem by encouraging earlier, more comprehensive screening and a multidisciplinary approach to treatment; moving beyond just managing irregular periods or infertility.”

The international researchers wrote that PCOS only denotes “pathological ovarian cysts, obscuring diverse endocrine and metabolic features, and contributing to delayed diagnosis, fragmented care, and stigma, while curtailing research and policy framing.”

Throughout 25 years, Kazim has determined that Gulf-wide, from a “hidden” diagnosis, PCOS/PMOS has become among the commonest among young women: “Some regional data suggest figures in the 20 to 30 per cent range in certain Middle Eastern and South Asian groups. Globally, it is roughly 10 to 13 per cent of women of reproductive age.”

Kazim advocates continuing education and empowerment; lifestyle modification by way of the appropriate nutrition and “consistent physical activities” for “insulin resistance because a five to 10 per cent reduction in body weight can restore ovulation in many women; targeted endocrine profile management; and personalised ovarian stimulation protocols and on a case-to-case basis, Assisted Reproductive Technology.

On Reproductive Medicine, Kazim explained that while it is anchored on women’s health, this has evolved into the joint journey of the husband-and-wife, addressing their infertility concerns.