Second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) is associated with dementia in women

Joanne Jiang; Katherine Young; Christian J Pike

doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2020.105152

Second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) is associated with dementia in women

Early Hum Dev. 2020 Oct:149:105152. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2020.105152. Epub 2020 Aug 6.

Authors

Joanne Jiang¹, Katherine Young¹, Christian J Pike²

Affiliations

¹ Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
² Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. Electronic address: cjpike@usc.edu.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by sex differences that may involve sex hormone exposure during development. Finger length ratios, an indirect measure of prenatal androgen exposure, were found to significantly differ in women with and without dementia. This finding links a relatively feminine in utero development with vulnerability to dementia in women.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Dementia; Prenatal androgens; Sex differences; Sexual differentiation.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Dementia / epidemiology*
Female
Fingers / anatomy & histology*
Humans
Male
Sex Factors

Grants and funding

RF1 AG058068/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States