Self-portraits aid in assessing patients

If a picture is worth a thousand words, professor Jitske Tiemensma’s research speaks volumes. The UC Merced health psychologist uses self-portraits to assess how patients feel about their illnesses.

In a study published in the European Journal of Endocrinology, Tiemensma found that people with acromegaly, a growth disorder that can lead to gigantism, still perceive themselves to be afflicted even after receiving a clean bill of health from doctors.

“Patients are labeled ‘cured’ by medical doctors but still feel like a patient with acromegaly,” she said. “We think that these drawings have the potential to function as a source of information health care providers are less likely to receive otherwise.”

Acromegaly is a disorder caused by the over-production of growth hormone. It can lead to gigantism in children; in middle-aged adults, the results are enlarged bones in the hands, feet and face. It’s also rare, affecting about 60 people per million according to the U.S. National Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases Information Service.

Treatment can reverse the effects of the disease, but patients usually do not fully return to their prior appearance, Tiemensma said. Patients with active acromegaly report a lower quality of life due to social issues, psychological symptoms and physical complaints.

“What our research shows is that even after treatment and cure, most patients still report a lower quality of life than healthy individuals,” she said.

This is shown by a series of drawings the patients are asked to create. The first is a picture of the patient before the disease, the second from when the disease was active, and the third from the present, after the patient has been cured.

The patients’ first drawings showed healthy individuals and reflected no pain, negative emotions or symptoms. However, the head, hands and feet in both the second and third drawings were significantly larger and wider compared with the first, suggesting the patients still perceive themselves as suffering from acromegaly even though doctors consider them successfully treated.

The researchers also found that patients who drew larger drawings of their symptoms had more negative perceptions about their illness and suffered from a lower quality of life.

Child development symposium on campus

The UC Merced Symposium on the Child and Family will be held on campus Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The event’s theme is “Myths About Child Development and Learning.” It will feature research-based talks by the psychological sciences and cognitive and informational sciences faculty, poster presentations by graduate and undergraduate students, lunch and tours of the campus’s Early Childhood Education Center.

The lectures, all presented by UC Merced faculty members, will be:

▪  “Myths and realities about the causes of learning disabilities,” by Jeffrey Gilger.

▪  “Socio-emotional development and autism,” by Eric Walle.

▪  “Early language development and autism,” by Anne Warlaumont.

▪  “Fact or fiction? Myths about early bilingualism,” by Rose Scott.

▪  “Parenting children and adolescents with chronic illness,” by Deborah Wiebe.

▪  “Beyond storm and stress: Family relationships during adolescence,” by Alexandra Main.

Registration for the event is $22, which includes refreshments and lunch. To register, contact Danielle Waite at (209) 228-5437 or ecec@ucmerced.edu.

This story was originally published March 10, 2015 at 10:50 PM with the headline "Self-portraits aid in assessing patients."