Did you know the chronic medical condition previously known as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) was officially renamed to Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS)?
The name change was announced in May 2026 in The Lancet, which is a global, weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal.
According to Professor Venkatesan Sundaram and Dr Stephanie Mohammed of The UWI St Augustine Faculty of Medical Sciences, the name change was made by global consensus as more information emerges about its complexities.
Dr Mohammed explained, “The reason why this name change is important is because the old name [PCOS] gave the impression that the condition simply involves cysts in the ovaries.
“But [PMOS] is an endocrine and metabolic disorder with reproductive, metabolic, dermatological and psychological consequences.
“Therefore, a woman doesn’t necessarily have to have polycystic ovaries in order to have PMOS.”
Internationally, there is expanding research into the condition to continue developing a robust understanding of its symptoms and effects to help women access better healthcare.
Locally, Dr Mohammed continues to lead teams at UWI St Augustine to better understand the effects of PMOS on women in Trinidad and Tobago.
Recent research has identified an association between PMOS and depressive symptoms, and the research team is encouraging women with persistent symptoms to seek appropriate medical assessment.
“In our findings, we found that PMOS is impacting the mental health of women, and this is also an area of research on the condition that is taking centre stage in the international arena,” Prof Sundaram explained. “Our research found that depressive symptoms were more frequently observed among women with PMOS than among women without PMOS.”
These deductions were made based on screening hundreds of women across Trinidad for PMOS and conducting detailed interviews with women living with the condition, as well as women who do not.
To broaden the research into the effects on mental health and get more data, Dr Mohammed said the research team also recently conducted a targeted study among 500 university students and got similar insights.
Dr Mohammed said,“We have recently completed a study among university students examining reproductive health and mental wellbeing. The findings are currently being prepared for scientific publication.”
Dr Mohammed noted that concerns about fertility and the effects of PMOS on body weight may be among the factors contributing to the greater burden of depressive symptoms observed in women with PMOS.
These new insights into the condition locally come almost a decade into the pair’s local PMOS research, which started in 2017 by looking into the prevalence of PMOS in women across the country, screening hundreds of women, and creating strategic awareness campaigns to assist women in learning more about the condition.
In the past two academic years (2024/2025 and 2025/2026), MBBS students of The UWI St Augustine Faculty of Medical Sciences have been assisting Prof Sundaram and Dr Mohammed with the research into PMOS and mental health.
They said involving MBBS students provides an opportunity for the students to better understand the symptoms of PMOS and the guidelines for testing when they eventually go into practice.
Symptoms of PMOS include irregular or absent menstrual cycles, hirsutism (excessive facial or body hair growth), infertility, alopecia, sporadic weight changes, fluctuations in metabolism, insulin resistance, and acanthosis (darkening of the neck, around and underneath the armpits).
But Dr Mohammed cautioned, “I would also like to add that women should not panic if they have one of the symptoms. Having a single symptom does not automatically mean you have PMOS.
“However, the persistent symptoms or combination of these features should prompt the conversation with the healthcare professionals, and it should be properly assessed.” Women with persistent symptoms or combinations of symptoms should seek assessment from a healthcare professional and routine screening should be guided by clinical assessment. Parents can begin screenings once a girl starts menstruating if there are concerns, though the recommended testing age group is 18 to 45.
Prof Sundaram highlighted that women can seek assessment through their healthcare provider or appropriate specialist services, including facilities such as the Mount Hope Women’s Hospital.
Once screened, healthcare professionals can provide guidance on treatment options for the conditions based on individuals’ symptoms and needs.
For Prof Sundaram and Dr Mohammed, the research and work continue to better understand PMOS to help women make informed decisions, which includes multi-country and multi-stakeholder collaborations.
Dr Mohammed shared, “We have been working with Professor Aziz, who is an endocrinologist and one of the most recognised persons in the world of PMOS research. He has been doing many preliminary studies in places where there’s not much data on PMOS.
“We’ve also been submitting a lot of our research to the Androgen Excess and PCOS Society and attending their conferences around the world.
“Locally, we are working with stakeholders like the Rotary Clubs, which helps us fulfil our focus on community education, creating awareness and policy development.”
The research team’s goal is to translate their research into awareness of PMOS and improvement in the healthcare experiences of women living with the condition.
The next stage of the research will investigate the prevalence of PMOS in adolescent girls and its effect on this demographic.
Ethical approval has already been granted for this stage of the research, which is expected to kick off in 2027.
