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

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Authors
Richards, Gareth
Aydin, Ezra
Tsompanidis, Alex
Padaigaitė, Eglė
Austin, Topun
Allison, Carrie
Holt, Rosemary
Publication Date
2022-08-09
Journal Title
Sci Rep
ISSN
2045-2322
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Type
Article
This Version
AM
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Citation
Richards, G., Aydin, E., Tsompanidis, A., Padaigaitė, E., Austin, T., Allison, C., Holt, R., & et al. (2022). Digit ratio (2D:4D) and maternal testosterone-to-estradiol ratio measured in early pregnancy.. Sci Rep https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17247-3
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.
Keywords
Androgens, Child, Digit Ratios, Estradiol, Female, Fingers, Gonadal Steroid Hormones, Humans, Pregnancy, Testosterone
Sponsorship
SBC received funding from the Wellcome Trust 214322\Z\18\Z. For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission. The results leading to this publication have received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 777394 for the project AIMS-2-TRIALS. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA and AUTISM SPEAKS, Autistica, SFARI. (The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.) Any views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the funders. SBC also received funding from the Autism Research Trust, SFARI, the Templeton World Charitable Fund, the MRC,and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). The NIHR BRC is a partnership between Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The research was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care East of England at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. TA is supported by the NIHR BRC and by the NIHR Brain Injury MedTech Co-operative. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, NIHR or Department of Health and Social Care
Funder references
Wellcome Trust (214322/Z/18/Z)
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17247-3
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/339628
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International
Licence URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Attribution 4.0 International
Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as Attribution 4.0 International