ArticleJournal of anatomy2008
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.
Article in Journal of anatomy, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Correlation of index finger length to vertical dimensions of occlusion for edentulous patients and their satisfaction: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Evaluation of the relationship between the 2D:4D ratio, fine hand motor skills, and anatomy practical examination performance in first-year medical students.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- A natural biomimetic prosthetic hand with neuromorphic tactile sensing for precise and compliant grasping.Science advances · 2025Article
- Phalangeal bone growth and implications in Turner syndrome.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Article
- 2D:4D Ratio and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Brunei Darussalam.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2021Article
- Investigating the reliability and sex differences of digit lengths, ratios, and hand measures in infants.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Fingerprint evidence for the division of labour and learning pottery-making at Early Bronze Age Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel.PloS one · 2020Article
- Familial digit ratio (2D:4D) associations in a general population sample from Wales.Early human development · 2017Article
- Right, left, and center: how does cerebral asymmetry mix with callosal connectivity?Human brain mapping · 2013Article
- Population genetic analyses of susceptibility to increased body weight.Archives of medical science : AMS · 2012Article
- Cross-sectional data on soft tissue morphometry of the growing hand and fingers of dextral individuals 5-65 years old.Journal of anatomy · 2012Article
- Early-to-mid gestation fetal testosterone increases right hand 2D:4D finger length ratio in polycystic ovary syndrome-like monkeys.PloS one · 2012Article
- Left-handedness and male-male competition: insights from fighting and hormonal data.Evolutionary psychology : an international journal of evolutionary approaches to psychology and behavior · 2011Article
- Individual phenotype trait variability as genetic markers of gender susceptibility to spina bifida.Balkan journal of medical genetics : BJMG · 2011Article
- Digit ratios have poor indicator value in a wild bird population.Behavioral ecology and sociobiology · 2011Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Human 2D : 4D ratios (measures of the relative lengths of index and ring fingers) attract considerable research interest because they exhibit sexual dimorphism and are associated with various morphological, physiological and behavioural traits as well as sporting abilities and medical conditions. In an attempt to identify potential confounding factors in such studies, we have examined how relative and absolute digit lengths vary with gender and tested whether they are influenced by age, right-left asymmetry and hand preference. Participants between 4 and 60 years of age were recruited from local educational sites. Hand photocopies and calliper measurement were used to obtain digit lengths. We employed linear regression analysis to examine the growth trajectories of individual digits, analyses of variance to isolate main and interaction effects of age, gender and hand preference, and paired t-tests to identify lateral asymmetries. Both digits exhibited biphasic growth with an early growth phase followed by a stable length phase. Digits in females attained their maximum length about 2.2 years (dextral subjects) or 5.1 years (sinistral subjects) earlier than those in males. Sexual dimorphism in 2D : 4D ratios was apparent by 4 years of age and age changes in ratios depended on gender, side and hand preference. Relative and absolute lengths displayed age, gender, hand-preference and age x gender interaction effects. Lengths tended to be greater in females in younger subjects and greater in males in older subjects. Ratios tended to be greater in sinistral subjects. In dextral subjects, significant lateral asymmetries in 2D lengths were seen at all ages but asymmetries in males and 4D lengths seemed to be age-dependent. We conclude that age, lateral asymmetry and hand preference are potential confounding factors and that future study designs should take account of these as well as other known confounders such as ethnicity, birth order, menstrual cycle phase and sexual preference.
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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.