*Department of Anthropology,Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy,Polish Academy of Science,Wrocław,Poland.
†General Tadeusz Kościuszko Military Academy of Land Forces,Wrocław,Poland.
J Biosoc Sci. 2018 Jul;50(4):527-539. doi: 10.1017/S0021932017000438. Epub 2017 Aug 22.
Males and females differ in their preference for occupations and sporting activities, and differ also in risk-taking attitudes. In addition to other explanations, prenatal hormone exposure has been implicated in these gender-associated differences. The ratio of the relative lengths of the second-to-fourth digits (2D:4D) is a proxy indicator of prenatal exposure to testosterone relative to oestrogen. The 2D:4D ratio has been found to be associated with choice of occupation, particularly among females. This study investigated whether 2D:4D differed between police officers and a control group of civilians in Wrocław, Poland. Participants were 147 male and 55 female police officers and 91 male and 75 female civilian controls. The police officers had to undergo rigorous physical ability tests during recruitment and their job bore relatively higher risk, whereas the controls had a normal civilian lifestyle. Height, weight, hand grip strength and lengths of the second and fourth digits were measured. Analyses of variance and covariance were employed to assess the significance of difference in digit ratio between groups (police officers and civilians) allowing for interaction with sex. The policewomen, compared with the female controls, were taller and had stronger hand grip strength, but had lower 2D:4D in the right hand and average 2D:4D of both hands. However, male and female police officers slightly differed only in the right hand digit ratio but not in the left hand ratio or the average for the two hands. However, the control group showed significant sex differences in all digit ratios with higher (feminine) mean values in females. The study provides further evidence that prenatal testosterone exposure, as reflected in the 2D:4D ratio, might have an association with choice of occupation, particularly among females.
男性和女性在职业和体育活动偏好上存在差异，并且在冒险态度上也存在差异。除了其他解释外，产前激素暴露也与这些与性别相关的差异有关。第二到第四指骨长度比（2D:4D）是评估胎儿期暴露于睾酮与雌激素相对比值的替代指标。2D:4D 比值与职业选择有关，尤其是在女性中。本研究调查了波兰弗罗茨瓦夫的警察和对照组平民之间的 2D:4D 是否存在差异。参与者包括 147 名男性和 55 名女性警察以及 91 名男性和 75 名女性平民对照组。警察在招募时必须接受严格的体能测试，他们的工作风险相对较高，而对照组则过着正常的平民生活。测量了身高、体重、手握力以及第二和第四指骨的长度。采用方差分析和协方差分析来评估组间（警察和平民）数字比率差异的显著性，同时允许与性别相互作用。与女性对照组相比，女警察更高，手握力更强，但右手 2D:4D 较低，双手平均 2D:4D 较低。然而，男性和女性警察仅在右手数字比率上略有差异，而左手比率或双手平均值则没有差异。然而，对照组在所有数字比率上均表现出显著的性别差异，女性的平均值更高（女性化）。该研究进一步证明，产前睾酮暴露（如 2D:4D 比值所反映）可能与职业选择有关，尤其是在女性中。
