ReviewReproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E2006
The use of digit ratios as markers for perinatal androgen action.
Review in Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
81 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Sex Hormones in Psoriatic Disease: A Systematic Review.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2026Pooled it
- Genome-wide association study identifies nine novel loci for 2D:4D finger ratio, a putative retrospective biomarker of testosterone exposure in utero.Human molecular genetics · 2018Pooled it
- Genetic association suggests that SMOC1 mediates between prenatal sex hormones and digit ratio.Human genetics · 2013Trial
- Androgens and eye movements in women and men during a test of mental rotation ability.Hormones and behavior · 2007Trial
- Assessing the relative length of the metacarpal and metatarsal bones of prehistoric Jomon, Yayoi, and modern Japanese.Anatomical science international · 2026Article
- Prenatal Hormonal Markers in Neurodevelopment: The 2D:4D Digit Ratio in Children with Tic DisordersTurk psikiyatri dergisi = Turkish journal of psychiatry · 2026Observational
- Article
- Investigating the relationship between prenatal androgen exposure and sleep quality: a comprehensive study using anthropometric measurements, questionnaires, actigraphy, and polysomnography.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Article
- Forensic application of foot dimensions in ethnic differentiation among Ghanaians.Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis · 2023Article
- The association of prenatal amniotic sex hormones and digit ratio (2D:4D) in children aged 5 to 70 months: A longitudinal study.PloS one · 2023Article
- Deconstructing a Syndrome: Genomic Insights Into PCOS Causal Mechanisms and Classification.Endocrine reviews · 2022Article
- Associations of maternal anthropometrics with newborn anogenital distance and the 2:4 digit ratio.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2022Article
- Digit ratio, a proposed marker of the prenatal hormone environment, is not associated with prenatal sex steroids, anogenital distance, or gender-typed play behavior in preschool age children.Journal of developmental origins of health and disease · 2021Article
- Second to fourth (2D:4D) digit ratio and their relationships among a mother and child population in Ghana.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Investigating the reliability and sex differences of digit lengths, ratios, and hand measures in infants.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Sex, population origin, age and average digit length as predictors of digit ratio in three large world populations.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- 2D:4D Digit Ratios in Adults with Gender Dysphoria: A Comparison to Their Unaffected Same-Sex Heterosexual Siblings, Cisgender Heterosexual Men, and Cisgender Heterosexual Women.Archives of sexual behavior · 2021Article
- Oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism (rs53576) and digit ratio associates with aggression: comparison in seven ethnic groups.Journal of physiological anthropology · 2020Article
- The association between second to fourth digit ratio, reproductive and general health among women: findings from an Israeli pregnancy cohort.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Sibling sex, but not androgens, shapes phenotypes in perinatal common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus).Scientific reports · 2019Article
21 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Since the ratio of the second-to-fourth finger length was first proposed as a marker for prenatal androgen action in 1998, over 100 studies have been published that have either further tested the association between the digit ratio and prenatal androgens, or employed digit ratios as a marker to investigate the association between prenatal androgens and a variety of outcomes, including behavior, fertility, and disease risks. Despite the clear demand for an adult marker of prenatal androgen action and increased use of digit ratios as such a marker, its validity remains controversial. This review (1) evaluates current evidence for the relationship between digit ratios and prenatal androgens (using experimentation with animal models, amniotic testosterone, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia case-control studies), (2) describes opportunities for future validation tests, and (3) compares the potential advantages and disadvantages of digit ratio measures with more established methods for studying the effects of prenatal androgens.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.