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After more than a decade of global consultation, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) -- a condition that affects one in eight women -- has been renamed.

The hormonal disorder, estimated to impact 170 million women worldwide, will now be known as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS).

The name change was published in the Lancetand announced at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague on Tuesday, after 14 years of collaboration between international societies and patient groups across six continents.

The renaming was spearheaded by the endocrinologist Prof Helena Teede, the director of Melbourne’s Monash Centre for Health Research & Implementation. For too long, experts including Teede say, the misleading nature of the term “polycystic” in PCOS contributed to delayed diagnosis and inadequate medical care.