ArticleJournal of negative results in biomedicine2006
Radiographic 2D:4D index in females: no relation to anthropometric, behavioural, nutritional, health-related, occupational or fertility variables.
Article in Journal of negative results in biomedicine, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Digit ratio (2D:4D) in relation to substance and computer use: a meta-analysis.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2019Pooled it
- Radiologically Assessed Sex-Specific Left-Hand Digit Ratio (2D:4D) in Caucasian Children and Adolescents from South Germany.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- A systematic review of the association between women's morphological traits and fertility.Evolutionary human sciences · 2025Article
- Associations between bio-motor ability, endocrine markers and hand-specific anthropometrics in elite female futsal players: a pilot study.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2022Article
- Article
- Differential Placing of Flexion Creases Contributes to Sex Differences in the Second-to-Fourth Digit Ratio (2D:4D).Frontiers in endocrinology · 2019Article
- 2D:4D finger length ratio and radiographic hand osteoarthritis.Rheumatology international · 2018Article
- Low second to fourth digit ratio in Dupuytren disease.Medicine · 2017Observational
- Finger Length Ratio (2D:4D) in Central India and an Attempt to Verify Fraternal Birth Order Effect: A Population Based Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical and diagnostic research : JCDR · 2016Article
- Validation of digit-length ratio (2D:4D) assessments on the basis of DXA-derived hand scans.BMC medical imaging · 2015Article
- Sex-different abnormalities in the right second to fourth digit ratio in Japanese individuals with autism spectrum disorders.Molecular autism · 2015Article
- A comparison of measurement methods and sexual dimorphism for digit ratio (2D:4D) in Han ethnicity.Archives of sexual behavior · 2014Article
- Early-to-mid gestation fetal testosterone increases right hand 2D:4D finger length ratio in polycystic ovary syndrome-like monkeys.PloS one · 2012Article
- Finger bone immaturity and 2D:4D ratio measurement error in the assessment of the hyperandrogenic hypothesis for the etiology of autism spectrum disorders.Physiology & behavior · 2010Article
- Relationships between finger-length ratios, ghrelin, leptin, IGF axis, and sex steroids in young male and female swimmers.European journal of applied physiology · 2008Article
- Human 2D (index) and 4D (ring) finger lengths and ratios: cross-sectional data on linear growth patterns, sexual dimorphism and lateral asymmetry from 4 to 60 years of age.Journal of anatomy · 2008Article
- Radiographic assessment of the index to ring finger ratio (2D:4D) in adults.Journal of anatomy · 2008Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe ratio of index finger to ring finger length (2D:4D index) may be an indicator of gonadal hormone exposure, because the differentiation of gonads, fingers and toes is influenced by the same HOXA and HOHD genes. Some previous studies have found significant associations between the 2D:4D index and sexual, psychological or behavioural variables. We studied the usability of the radiographic 2D:4D index as a potential predictor of several features in a large female sample.
methods271 female dentists and 219 teachers (age 45 - 63 years) had their hands radiographed and their right 2nd and 4th fingers measured from the base of the bony proximal phalanxes to the tip of the distal phalanxes to define the radiographic 2D:4D index. The study subjects were classified into two distinctly separate clusters (by using cluster analysis with the K-means algorithm) in each of the following dimensions: anthropometric (including four items), behavioural (five items), nutritional (five items), health-related (seven items), occupational (Karasek job control and job demand scores) and fertility (four items).
resultsThe radiographic 2D:4D index ranged from 0.845 to 0.981 (mean 0.925, SD 0.021). The intraclass correlation between three radiographers' measurements (31 cases) was 0.971. No differences concerning the 2D:4D index were found between clusters 1 and 2 in any studied dimension, nor did any of the items in clusters have relations with the 2D:4D index when tested separately with bivariate tests.
conclusionDespite the ideal set-up of the measuring possibilities in a relatively large radiographic material the variables currently studied were not dependent on the length of finger bones. It can therefore be questioned whether any real associations between the bony 2D:4D index in adult life and (direct or indirect) hormone dependent effects exist. There may be a publication bias explaining that mostly positive findings have been the previously reported. However, the associations of the 2D:4D index with various features, if present, may be related to the soft parts of fingers rather than to the length of bones.
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