“Tandem anorexia” in dizygotic twin sisters Masha and Dasha
- Authors: Mendelevich V.D.1, Nesterina M.K.1
-
Affiliations:
- Kazan State Medical University
- Issue: Vol LVI, No 1 (2024)
- Pages: 59-72
- Section: Case reports
- URL: https://journals.rcsi.science/1027-4898/article/view/256809
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.17816/nb625487
- ID: 256809
Cite item
Abstract
The article describes a unique combination of anorexia nervosa in 15-year-old dizygotic twin sisters, Masha and Dasha, which developed synchronously and proceeded with a similar clinical picture. Within six months from the time they jointly made the decision to change their eating habits and follow a special diet, each of the sisters lost more than 25% of her body weight. However, they each still had an obsessive fear of gaining weight, preoccupation with appearance, dissatisfaction with their figures and volumes of various body parts, and also periodically disrupted their menstrual cycles. The mechanism of the development of eating disorders in each of them was analyzed and it was concluded that the principle of fierce competition between them turned out to be fundamental. The twin sisters constantly compared the results of weight loss, making sure that the other did not achieve better results. This was accompanied by emotional reactions such as resentment, irritation, complacency or gloating. It is concluded that the clinical case of “tandem anorexia” in dizygotic twin sisters Masha and Dasha allows us to confirm the fact that the formation of “pair psychopathology” (in this case, eating disorder) may be associated not so much with genetic factors, but with psychological mechanisms and should be taken into account when choosing a treatment strategy.
Keywords
Full Text
##article.viewOnOriginalSite##About the authors
Vladimir D. Mendelevich
Kazan State Medical University
Author for correspondence.
Email: mendelevich_vl@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8476-6083
SPIN-code: 2302-2590
MD, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Professor., Head of the Depart.
Russian Federation, KazanMaria K. Nesterina
Kazan State Medical University
Email: mari.nesterina@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6901-5903
SPIN-code: 5974-4048
Resident
Russian Federation, KazanReferences
- Mezhdunarodnaya klassifikaciya psihicheskih i povedencheskih rasstrojstv. MKB-10. (In Russ.) https://mkb-10.com/index.php?pid=4160 (access date: 29.12.2023).
- Pishchevye addikcii. In: Rukovodstvо po addiktologii. Pod red. VD Mendelevicha. SPb.: Rech'; 2007. р. 406–416. (In Russ.)
- Dadaeva VA, Eganyan RA, Korolev AI et al. Tipy narusheniĭ pishchevogo povedeniya. Profilakticheskaya medicina. 2021;24(4):113–119. (In Russ.) doi: 10.17116/profmed202124041113
- Uher R, Rutter M. Klassifikaciya rasstroĭstv priema pishchi: obzor dokazatel'nyh dannyh i predlozheniya dlya MKB-11. World Psychiatry. 2012;11:80–92. (In Russ.)
- Erriu M, Cimino S, Cerniglia L. The role of family relationships in eating disorders in adolescents: A narrative review. Behav Sci. 2020;10:71. doi: 10.3390/bs10040071
- Thornton LM, Trace SE, Brownley KM et al. A comparison of personality, life events, comorbidity, and health in monozygotic twins discordant for anorexia nervosa. Twin Res Hum Genet. 2017;20(4):310–318. doi: 10.1017/thg.2017.27
- Scutt E, Langdon-Daly J, Smithson J. Experiences of eating difficulties in siblings of people with anorexia nervosa: A reflexive thematic analysis. Journal of Eating Disorders. 2022;10:123. doi: 10.1186/s40337-022-00646-2
- Znachimyj drugoj. Bol'shoj psihologicheskij slovar'. Sost. B Meshcheryakov, V Zinchenko. M.: Olma-press; 2004. 632 р. (In Russ.)
- Mendelevich VD. Psihologiya deviantnogo povedeniya. M.: Gorodec; 2016. 386 р. (In Russ.)
- Kuz'mina AS, Praĭzendorf ES. Rol' vnutriparnogo vzaimodeĭstviya v razvitii samosoznaniya bliznecov doshkol'nogo vozrasta. Vestnik Altaĭskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta. 2021;1(46):58–62. (In Russ.) doi: 10.37386/2413-4481-2021-1-58-62
- Romackiĭ VV, Semin IR. Fenomenologiya i klassifikaciya narusheniĭ pishchevogo povedeniya (analiticheskiĭ obzor literatury, chast' II). Byulleten' sibirskoĭ mediciny. 2006;(4):83–91. (In Russ.)
- Dzarieva FM, Nikolaeva AF, Dzarieva FM. “Fenomen bliznecov” — mif ili real'nost'? Vestnik nauki i obrazovaniya. 2020;10(88):14–17. (In Russ.)
- Holland AJ, Hall A, Murray R et al. Anorexia nervosa: A study of 34 twin pairs and one set of triplets. British Journal of Psychiatry. 1984;145:414–419. doi: 10.1192/bjp.145.4.414
- Kipman A, Gorwood P, Mouren-Siméoni MC, Adès J. Genetic factors in anorexia nervosa. European Psychiatry. 1999;14(4):189–198.
- Bozkurt H, Adak I, Kilin-Caslan A et al. Female monozygotic twins with anorexia nervosa. Yeni Symposium. 2016;54(1):29–31. doi: 10.5455/NYS.2016005
- Slof-Op ‘t Landt MCT, van Furth EF, Meulenbelt I et al. Eating disorders: From twin studies to candidate genes and beyond. Twin Research and Human Genetics. 2005;8(5):467–482.
- Cerniglia L, Cimino S, Tafà M et al. Family profiles in eating disorders: Family functioning and psychopathology. Psychology Research and Behavior Management. 2017;10:305–312. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S145463
- Kibitov AO, Mazo GE. Geneticheskie issledovaniya narushenij pishchevogo povedeniya: vyhod iz zamknutogo kruga nozologicheskoj sistematiki. Social'naya i klinicheskaya psihiatriya. 2016;26(4):63–70. (In Russ.)
- Skugarevskiĭ OA. Narusheniya pishchevogo povedeniya. Minsk: BGMU; 2007. 340 p. (In Russ.)
- Maloney MJ, Shepard-Spiro P. Eating attitudes and behaviors of anorexia nervosa patients and their sisters. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 1983;5(4):285–288. doi: 10.1016/0163-8343(83)90008-7
- Zohar AH, Ari LL, Bachner-Melman R. My sister myself: A controlled study of the relationship between women with a lifetime diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and their sisters. Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2016;24(6):466–473. doi: 10.1002/erv.2465
- Meshkova TA. Rol' nasledstvennosti i sredy v etiologii narusheniĭ pishchevogo povedeniya. I. Obzor semeĭnyh issledovaniĭ. Klinicheskaya i special'naya psihologiya. 2015;4(1). http://psyjournals.ru/psyclin/2015/n1/Meshkova.shtml (access date: 02.01.2024). (In Russ.)
- Vázquez-Velázquez V, Kaufer-Horwitz M, Méndez JP et al. Eating behavior and psychological profile: Associations between daughters with distinct eating disorders and their mothers. BMC Women's Health. 2017;17:74. doi: 10.1186/s12905-017-0430-y
- Orum MH, Kalenderoglu A, Kara MZ, Egilmez OB. The importance of separation-individuation process in the treatment course of a monozygotic twin pair concordant for anorexia nervosa: A case report. Journal of Mood Disorders. 2017;7(3):163–165. doi: 10.5455/jmood.20170822064827
- Copelanda M, Siennickb SE, Feinbergc ME et al. Social ties cut both ways: Self-harm and adolescent peer networks. J Youth Adolesc. 2019;48(8):1506–1518. doi: 10.1007/s10964-019-01011-4
- Yudin TI. Psihopaticheskie konstitucii. https://www.psychiatry.ru/lib/53/book/94/chapter/4 (access date: 02.01.2024). (In Russ.)
- Kucherova AV. Psihopatiya v kontekste sovremennosti: ot biosocial'noĭ problematiki k psihopaticheskoĭ modeli obshchestva. Filosofiya nauki i tekhniki. 2021;26(1):144–157. (In Russ.) doi: 10.21146/2413-9084-2021-26-1-144-157