School of Women's and Infants' Health, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2010 Sep;35(8):1235-44. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.02.013. Epub 2010 Mar 17.
Digit ratio (2D:4D) is widely used as a marker of prenatal androgen exposure. However, there are no published prospective studies where prenatal androgen exposure has been measured and correlated with digit ratio in adult life. We aimed to establish the prospective relationship between prenatal androgen exposure in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy (as measured by maternal circulating androgen concentrations and umbilical cord androgen concentrations) and digit ratio in adolescent girls. Androgen concentrations (testosterone, free androgen index, androstenedione, DHEAS) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) were measured in stored plasma samples from pregnant mothers at 18 (n=118) and 34/36 (n=114) weeks of gestation and in cord blood (n=82) from the Western Australian Pregnancy (Raine) Cohort Study (www.rainestudy.org.au). Digit ratio was measured in 244 female offspring from this cohort at age 14-16 years. Only one borderline statistically significant correlation between maternal circulating androstenedione levels at 18 weeks of gestation and left hand digit ratio was seen. No other statistically significant relationship between maternal androgen concentrations or umbilical cord androgen concentrations and digit ratio in adolescence were observed. These findings suggest that variation in 2D:4D in girls is not established as a result of testosterone concentrations in the second and third trimesters. We conclude that prenatal androgen exposure as measured by maternal circulating androgen concentrations at 18 and 34/36 weeks of gestation or in the umbilical cord at birth may not predict digit ratio in girls.
手指长度比（2D:4D）被广泛用作产前雄激素暴露的标志物。然而，目前尚无已发表的前瞻性研究测量并关联产前雄激素暴露与成人生活中的手指长度比。我们旨在确定妊娠第二和第三个三个月（通过母亲循环雄激素浓度和脐带雄激素浓度测量）的产前雄激素暴露与青春期女孩的手指长度比之间的前瞻性关系。雄激素浓度（睾酮、游离雄激素指数、雄烯二酮、DHEAS）和性激素结合球蛋白（SHBG）在西澳大利亚妊娠（Raine）队列研究（www.rainestudy.org.au）中存储的孕妇血浆样本中进行了测量，这些样本来自妊娠 18 周（n=118）和 34/36 周（n=114）以及脐带血（n=82）。该队列中的 244 名女性后代在 14-16 岁时测量了手指长度比。仅在妊娠 18 周时母亲循环雄烯二酮水平与左手手指长度比之间观察到一个统计学上显著的相关性。未观察到母亲雄激素浓度或脐带雄激素浓度与青春期手指长度比之间的其他统计学显著关系。这些发现表明，女孩的 2D:4D 变化不是由于第二和第三个三个月的睾酮浓度引起的。我们得出结论，通过妊娠 18 周和 34/36 周时的母亲循环雄激素浓度或出生时脐带雄激素浓度测量的产前雄激素暴露可能无法预测女孩的手指长度比。
