Digit ratio (2D:4D) and maternal testosterone-to-estradiol ratio measured in early pregnancy

Richards, Gareth, Aydin, Ezra, Tsompanidis, Alex, Padaigaitė, Eglė, Austin, Topun, Allison, Carrie, Holt, Rosemary and Baron-Cohen, Simon 2022. Digit ratio (2D:4D) and maternal testosterone-to-estradiol ratio measured in early pregnancy. Scientific Reports 12 (1) , 13586. 10.1038/s41598-022-17247-3

PDF - Published Version Download (1MB)

Abstract

Abstract: The ratio of index to ring finger (2D:4D) has been hypothesised to indicate prenatal androgen exposure, yet evidence for its validity is lacking. We report the first pre-registered study to investigate mothers’ early pregnancy sex hormone concentrations in relation to their children’s digit ratios measured at 18–22-month follow-up. Although the testosterone (T) to estradiol (E) ratio correlated negatively with right hand digit ratio (R2D:4D) and directional asymmetry (right-minus-left) in digit ratio (D[R−L]), neither effect remained statistically significant once demographic and obstetric covariates were controlled for. Nevertheless, the multivariate level of analysis did reveal that T correlated positively with left hand digit ratio (L2D:4D) and negatively with D[R−L]. However, the first of these effects is in the opposite direction to that predicted by theory. Taken together, the results of our study suggest research with larger samples is required to determine whether digit ratios are valid proxies for maternal sex hormone exposure.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Type: open-access
Publisher:	Nature Research
ISSN:	2045-2322
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	11 August 2022
Date of Acceptance:	22 July 2022
Last Modified:	13 May 2023 21:17
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/151890

Citation Data

Cited 2 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item