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Good morning. We’ve got a pretty juicy story from STAT’s Jason Mast for you today. Pour your coffee and scroll down.
Racial disparities persist in PMOS
Endometriosis, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, and uterine fibroids are common but painful gynecological conditions that often go undiagnosed, especially in women of color. New data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics highlight this: Among women ages 20 to 49, 6.2% had an endometriosis diagnosis, 8.7% had one for PMOS, and 7.8% did for uterine fibroids. (All three numbers are lower than what experts estimate the prevalence to be.) The data, based on a 2022-2023 survey of nearly 5,000 women, also showed that PMOS diagnosis was lowest among Black women (4.4%).
The federal report refers to the disease by its former name, PCOS, which was updated to PMOS in May. Experts and advocates hope the new name will help create new awareness of the disease among Black and Latina women, who are more likely to suffer more severe symptoms and experience delayed diagnosis, barriers to care, and low rates of insurance coverage. STAT contributor Anissa Durham wrote about these challenges in a new story published today. Read more.
