scholarly journals Does the 2nd and 4th digit ratio reflect prenatal androgen exposure?

2019 ◽  
Vol 120 (09) ◽  
pp. 703-710
Author(s):  
M. Suchonova ◽  
V. Borbelyova ◽  
E. Renczes ◽  
B. Konecna ◽  
B. Vlkova ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongting Yuan ◽  
Jingyao Hu ◽  
Lili Sun ◽  
Yifei Zhang ◽  
Bangxuan Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractBody image dissatisfaction (BID) is a negative evaluation of personal physical characteristics, including dissatisfaction with body shape, gender, sexual organs, appearance and so forth, and it plays an important role in growth and development. The second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) is recognized as a putative indicator of intra-uterine testosterone to estrogen ratio exposure, and it has been observed that higher levels of fetal testosterone exposure are associated with a lower 2D:4D. The present paper contributes to a better understanding of the biological underpinnings of BID by analyzing BID and the digit ratio (2D:4D). We found that the 2D:4D was positively related to appearance dissatisfaction in boys with first spermatorrhea, which means that low prenatal androgen exposure may increase boys’ dissatisfaction with their appearance. In girls with breast development being lower than Tanner stage II, their 2D:4D was negatively related to their body shape dissatisfaction, which means that high prenatal androgen exposure may increase girls’ dissatisfaction with their body shape. These results suggest that the prenatal androgen exposure level might play an important role in the body image dissatisfaction of the offspring.


2008 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 783-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Voracek

The associations of digit ratio (2D:4D), a likely marker for prenatal androgen exposure, and absolute finger length, a likely marker for postnatal androgen exposure, with self-reports on three Pavlovian temperament dimensions (strength of excitation, strength of inhibition, and mobility of nervous processes) were investigated in a sample of 84 men and 114 women. In men, left-hand 2D:4D was weakly, but significantly, negatively associated with strength of inhibition, and also weakly negatively, but not significantly, associated with the two other temperament dimensions. These effects were absent for men's right-hand 2D:4D. Finger lengths of both hands in men were weakly, but significantly, positively associated with mobility of nervous processes scores. All associations for women were negligible. Both prenatal and postnatal androgen action may contribute to small amounts of individual differences in Pavlovian temperament dimensions in men but apparently not in women.


Endocrinology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 150 (11) ◽  
pp. 5119-5124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheri A. Berenbaum ◽  
Kristina Korman Bryk ◽  
Nicole Nowak ◽  
Charmian A. Quigley ◽  
Scott Moffat

Interest in biological substrates of sex-related variations in psychological and physiological characteristics has led to a search for biomarkers of prenatal hormone exposure that can be measured postnatally. There has been particular interest in digit ratio, the relative lengths of the second and fourth fingers (2D:4D), but its validity as a measure of prenatal androgen has not been established. We report the strongest evaluation of the value of 2D:4D as a biomarker for early androgen exposure. Individuals with 46,XY karyotype but no effective prenatal androgen exposure due to complete androgen insensitivity syndrome had digit ratios that were feminized: they were higher than those of typical men and similar to those of typical women. Nevertheless, the effect was modest in size, and there was considerable within-group variability and between-group overlap, indicating that digit ratio is not a good marker of individual differences in prenatal androgen exposure.


2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 231-231
Author(s):  
Michael Stolten ◽  
Elisa Ledet ◽  
Aryeneesh Dotiwala ◽  
Eric Luk ◽  
A. Oliver Sartor ◽  
...  

231 Background: During gestation, development of the prostate is dependent on a functional androgen receptor and the presence of dihydrotestosterone. Prenatal androgen exposure has been correlated with a range of diseases including prostate cancer (PCa). Historically, the ratio of the second to the fourth digit (2D:4D) has been linked to prenatal androgen levels; however, the use of alternate finger ratios have been shown to be a greater indicator of prenatal androgen exposure compared to the traditional 2D:4D ratio. Studies have shown that the distal fingertip extent of the second digit (2T:2D) was also associated with prenatal androgens. This study aims to use alternative digit ratio measurements to determine aggressiveness of PCa. Our hypothesis is that alternative digit ratios are more sensitive to prenatal androgen levels, and a better predictor of disease than the traditional 2D:4D ratio. Methods: Digital measurements were made from hand scans of PCa patients. All fingers on the right hand were measured from the basal crease to the fingertip as well as the distal fingertip extent of the second digit. Race, family history (FH) (first degree relatives with PCa), and age at diagnosis were recorded. These clinical covariates were then compared to the finger length ratios which were dichotomized based on the median values and analyzed for possible correlations. Results: Hand measurements were taken on 350 Caucasian (CA) and 100 African American (AA) PCa patients. AA men were more likely to have a smaller 2D:3D (P < 0.0001) and 2D:4D digit ratio (P < 0.0001), and larger 3D:5D (P = 0.0002) and 4D:5D (P = 0.0125) when compared to CA men. AA men with a smaller 2T:2D ratio were younger at the time of diagnosis (P = 0.0446). Additionally, AA men with a larger 2D:5D ratio were more likely to have a FH of PCa (P= 0.0238). Conclusions: Alternative finger length ratios show strong differences between AA and CA men. In AA men, alternative digit ratios are associated with age of PCa diagnosis and FH of PCa. These hypothesis generating results require validation in a larger cohort, but may provide insight to the underlying racial disparity observed in PCa. Finger length may represent a unique, non-invasive predictor of PCa, specifically age of onset and FH in AA men.


2008 ◽  
Vol 107 (2) ◽  
pp. 507-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Voracek ◽  
Jakob Pietschnig ◽  
Michael Oeckher

Different methods for measuring the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D), a putative marker for prenatal androgen exposure, may lead to varying values of 2D:4D. Specifically, it has been hypothesized that fingertip fat pads may be differentially deformed when taking palm images (photocopies or flatbed scans), but not when fingers are measured directly, thus yielding lower 2D:4D values from image-based measurements rather than direct ones. A measurement protocol for fingertip size is unavailable, as are data on finger and sex differences in this trait. Introducing such a protocol, this study found very large finger differences in adult fingertip size (largest for 4D, smaller for 3D and 5D, smallest for 2D), large side differences (larger in the left than in the right hand of right-handed subjects), but only small and not significant sex differences. Fingertip size was unrelated to image-based 2D:4D measurements, suggesting that fingertip size and the extent of finger and sex differences therein are unlikely to explain discrepant 2D:4D values obtained from image-based versus direct measurements.


2015 ◽  
Vol 100 (7) ◽  
pp. 643-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
O Abbo ◽  
C Ferdynus ◽  
N Kalfa ◽  
L Huiart ◽  
F Sauvat ◽  
...  

BackgroundIn humans the ratio of the index finger to the ring finger is sexually dimorphic, with the mean ratio being larger in women than in men. It has been suggested that this difference is related to prenatal androgen exposure. This has been further demonstrated in children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Normal development of the male external genitalia is linked to androgen-mediated events during gestation. We therefore wanted to determine if the 2D:4D digit ratio was normal in boys with cryptorchidism or hypospadias.MethodsWe prospectively enrolled all prepubertal patients seen in the outpatient clinic for cryptorchidism or hypospadias between September and December 2012. We then compared their 2D:4D digit ratio with two control groups made up of normal boys and normal girls. Interobserver and intraobserver variability was evaluated.ResultsWe included 57 boys with hypospadias and/or cryptorchidism, 79 boys without genital abnormalities and 25 girls without genital abnormalities. The mean 2D:4D ratio for both hands was significantly different between the three groups, with the digit ratio for boys with genital anomalies being lower than for normal boys and normal girls (p<0.0001).ConclusionsIt appears that boys with genital abnormalities (cryptorchidism and/or hypospadias) have a lower 2D:4D digit ratio than boys without genital anomalies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luisa Ernsten ◽  
Lisa M. Körner ◽  
Martin Heil ◽  
Gareth Richards ◽  
Nora K. Schaal

AbstractHands and digits tend to be sexually dimorphic and may reflect prenatal androgen exposure. In the past years, the literature introduced several hand and digit measures, but there is a lack of studies in prepubertal cohorts. The available literature reports more heterogeneous findings in prepubertal compared to postpubertal cohorts. The comparability of the available studies is further limited by the study design and different measurement techniques. The present study compared the reliability and sex differences of available hand and digit measures, namely digit lengths of 2D, 3D, 4D, 5D, digit ratios 2D:4D, 2D:5D, 3D:4D, 3D:5D, 4D:5D, relative digit lengths rel2, rel3, rel4, rel5, directional asymmetry of right and left 2D:4D (Dr-l), hand width, length, and index of 399 male and 364 female 6-month-old German infants within one study using only indirect and computer-assisted measurements. The inter-examiner reliability was excellent while the test-retest reliability of hand scans was only moderate to high. Boys exhibited longer digits as well as wider and longer hands than girls, but smaller digit ratios, with ratios comprising the fifth digit revealing the largest effect sizes. Other hand and digit ratios revealed sex differences to some extent. The findings promote the assumption of sexual dimorphic hand and digit measures. However, by comparing the results of the available literature, there remains an uncertainty regarding the underlying hypothesis. Specifically in prepubertal cohorts, i.e. before the influence of fluctuating hormones, significant effects should be expected. It seems like other factors than the influence of prenatal androgens contribute to the sexual dimorphism in hand and digit lengths.


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