ArticleHormones and behavior2011
2D:4D ratios in the first 2 years of life: Stability and relation to testosterone exposure and sensitivity.
Article in Hormones and behavior, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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
44 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 119 citations in OpenAlex.
- In support of 2D:4D: More data exploring its conflicting results on handedness, sexual orientation and sex differences.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Digit ratio (2D:4D), aggression, and testosterone in men exposed to an aggressive video stimulus.Evolutionary psychology : an international journal of evolutionary approaches to psychology and behavior · 2013Trial
- Radiologically Assessed Sex-Specific Left-Hand Digit Ratio (2D:4D) in Caucasian Children and Adolescents from South Germany.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Biodevelopmental Correlates of Sexual Orientation in Men: Evidence from a Polish Sample.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Correlation Between Propulsive Velocity, Maximum Velocity, and Power and the 2D:4D Ratio in Paralympic Powerlifting Athletes.BioMed research international · 2025Article
- The association between 2D:4D digit ratio and sex-typed play in children with and without siblings.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Effects of an App-Based Mindfulness Intervention during Pregnancy on the Infant's Prenatal Androgen Exposure: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- An Exploratory Analysis on the 2D:4D Digit Ratio and Its Relationship with Social Responsiveness in Adults with Prader-Willi Syndrome.Journal of clinical medicine · 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
- Associations of maternal anthropometrics with newborn anogenital distance and the 2:4 digit ratio.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2022Article
- Digit ratio (2D:4D) and maternal testosterone-to-estradiol ratio measured in early pregnancy.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Influence of gonadal steroids on cortical surface area in infancy.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 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
- The Variability and Determinants of Testosterone Measurements in Children: A Critical Review.Biological research for nursing · 2021Review
- 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
- Digit ratio (2D:4D) and its behavioral correlates in infant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).Developmental psychobiology · 2020Article
- Parent-Reports of Sex-Typed Play Preference in Preschool Children: Relationships to 2D:4D Digit Ratio and Older Siblings' Sex.Archives of sexual behavior · 2020Article
- 2D:4D Suggests a Role of Prenatal Testosterone in Gender Dysphoria.Archives of sexual behavior · 2020Article
- Relationship between the Second to Fourth Finger Length Ratio and Calcaneus Quantitative Ultrasound.Scientific reports · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The relative lengths of the 2nd and 4th digits (2D:4D) may provide an easily measurable and stable anthropometric index of prenatal androgen exposure, but no study has examined the development of 2D:4D in infancy and the potential impact of neonatal testosterone levels. We collected 2D:4D ratios from 364 children between 0 and 2 years of age. Saliva samples were collected from 236 of these children 3 months after birth and analyzed for testosterone. In addition, 259 children provided DNA samples which were genotyped for the CAG repeat polymorphism in the androgen receptor. There was substantial variability across age in 2D:4D. Sex differences were small compared to adults and did not consistently reach statistical significance. This suggests that 2D:4D may not function well as a proxy measure of prenatal testosterone exposure in infancy. In addition, the interaction of salivary T and CAG repeats predicted right hand digit ratio at 12 months and left hand digit ratio at 12 months and 24 months in males. The interaction of salivary testosterone and CAG repeat length also predicted change in left hand 2D:4D from 2 weeks to 12 months in males. This suggests that 2D:4D in adults may reflect, in part, neonatal testosterone exposure. No significant relationships were observed within females. No significant relationships were observed when salivary testosterone and CAG repeats were examined independent of each other. Results have important implications for the design and interpretation of studies which use 2D:4D as a proxy measure of prenatal testosterone exposure.
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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.