Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollutants and the Second to Fourth Digit Ratio in Adult Women

Overview

Journal Sci Rep

Specialty Science

Date 2024 Nov 8

PMID 39516536

Authors

Paulina Pruszkowska-Przybylska

Katarzyna Klis

Weronika Flis

Iwona Wronka

Aneta Sitek

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The study aimed to analyse the association between the digit ratio in adult women and the degree of air pollution (suspended particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitric dioxide, benzene levels) in the place of residence of their mothers during pregnancy. The data was collected from female students in several Polish cities. Measurements were taken, and questionnaire data were collected. 2D:4D ratios were calculated for the left and the right hand. The ratio was analysed as a continuous variables. Air quality information was retrieved from reports by the Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection. Statistically significant differences both in right- and left-hand 2D:4D ratio were found for PM and benzene. In addition, the right-hand 2D:4D differed significantly depending on PM. The association between digit ratio and the complex air pollution index was also found. Poor air quality was associated with higher values of the ratio. Our results indicate that a high airborne pollutant level, especially suspended particulate matter, is associated with a higher digit ratio.

References

Wainstock T, Pearce B, Barr D, Marder M, Terrell M, Marcus M . Exposure to PBB-153 and Digit Ratio. Early Hum Dev. 2016; 103():33-35. PMC: 5578450. DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2016.07.004. View

Barrett E, Thurston S, Harrington D, Bush N, Sathyanarayana S, Nguyen R . 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. J Dev Orig Health Dis. 2020; 12(6):923-932. PMC: 8211903. DOI: 10.1017/S2040174420001270. View

Agha-Alinejad H, Farzad B, Akbari M, Moffit D, Dakhili A . Digit ratios and motor and health-related fitness in pre-adolescent females. Ann Hum Biol. 2019; 46(3):225-230. DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2019.1620332. View

Colao A, Muscogiuri G, Piscitelli P . Environment and Health: Not Only Cancer. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016; 13(7). PMC: 4962265. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph13070724. View

Masuya Y, Okamoto Y, Inohara K, Matsumura Y, Fujioka T, Wada Y . Sex-different abnormalities in the right second to fourth digit ratio in Japanese individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Mol Autism. 2015; 6:34. PMC: 4460687. DOI: 10.1186/s13229-015-0028-x. View

Kornhuber J, Zenses E, Lenz B, Stoessel C, Bouna-Pyrrou P, Rehbein F . Low 2D:4D values are associated with video game addiction. PLoS One. 2013; 8(11):e79539. PMC: 3827365. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079539. View

Chen Y, Miao M, Liang H, Chen Y, Ji H, Ren Y . Effects of prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) on the second to fourth digit ratio in children aged 4 years. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2020; 231:113639. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113639. View

Brown W, Hines M, Fane B, Marc Breedlove S . Masculinized finger length patterns in human males and females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Horm Behav. 2002; 42(4):380-6. DOI: 10.1006/hbeh.2002.1830. View

Vick A, Burris H . Epigenetics and Health Disparities. Curr Epidemiol Rep. 2017; 4(1):31-37. PMC: 5327425. DOI: 10.1007/s40471-017-0096-x. View

10.

Arbuckle T, Agarwal A, MacPherson S, Fraser W, Sathyanarayana S, Ramsay T . Prenatal exposure to phthalates and phenols and infant endocrine-sensitive outcomes: The MIREC study. Environ Int. 2018; 120:572-583. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.08.034. View

11.

Fonseca C, Martelli D, Maia C, Dias V, Carvalho A, Martelli Junior H . Digital biomarker 2D:4D as a predictor of cancer: A systematic review. Early Hum Dev. 2021; 164:105521. DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2021.105521. View

12.

Richards G, Wei Y, Hendriks O . Self-Measured Digit Ration (2D:4D) and Gender Variance. Endocr Pract. 2020; 26(2):250-251. DOI: 10.4158/1934-2403-26.2.250. View

13.

Monneret C . What is an endocrine disruptor?. C R Biol. 2017; 340(9-10):403-405. DOI: 10.1016/j.crvi.2017.07.004. View

14.

Wu X, Yang D, Chai W, Jin M, Zhou X, Peng L . The ratio of second to fourth digit length (2D:4D) and coronary artery disease in a Han Chinese population. Int J Med Sci. 2013; 10(11):1584-8. PMC: 3775119. DOI: 10.7150/ijms.6360. View

15.

Wronka I, Klis K . Effect of air pollution on age at menarche in polish females, born 1993-1998. Sci Rep. 2022; 12(1):4820. PMC: 8938500. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08577-3. View

16.

Iljin A, Antoszewski B, Szewczyk T, Sitek A . The 2D:4D index is associated with the development of excess body weight in adults, but not with the rate of weight loss following bariatric surgery. Sci Rep. 2022; 12(1):8078. PMC: 9110364. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12306-1. View

17.

Weinmayr G, Hennig F, Fuks K, Nonnemacher M, Jakobs H, Mohlenkamp S . Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a cohort study: effects of total and traffic-specific air pollution. Environ Health. 2015; 14:53. PMC: 4479324. DOI: 10.1186/s12940-015-0031-x. View

18.

Berenbaum S, Bryk K, Nowak N, Quigley C, Moffat S . Fingers as a marker of prenatal androgen exposure. Endocrinology. 2009; 150(11):5119-24. PMC: 2775980. DOI: 10.1210/en.2009-0774. View

19.

Kumar S, Voracek M, Singh M . Sexual Dimorphism in Digit Ratios Derived from Dorsal Digit Length among Adults and Children. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2017; 8:41. PMC: 5337486. DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2017.00041. View

20.

Zheng Z, Cohn M . Developmental basis of sexually dimorphic digit ratios. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011; 108(39):16289-94. PMC: 3182741. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1108312108. View