Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery Clinic, Institute of Surgery, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Applied Sports, Technology, Exercise, and Medicine (A-STEM), Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 Jun 30;13:914471. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.914471. eCollection 2022.
Hashimoto thyroiditis and Graves' disease are autoimmune thyroid diseases which occur much more frequently in women than in men. Estrogen receptors are found in the thyroid gland and can modulate the gland's function. Digit ratio (2D:4D) is thought to be a negative correlate of prenatal testosterone and a positive correlate of prenatal estrogen. This study aimed to examine a relationship between right and left 2D:4D in women with Hashimoto thyroiditis and Graves' disease. The cross-sectional study included 106 women with autoimmune thyroid disease: 73 women diagnosed with Hashimoto thyroiditis and 33 women with Graves' disease, together with 70 healthy women as controls. Second and fourth digit length, weight, height were measured directly, and 2D:4D and BMI were calculated. Compared to controls, right and left 2D:4D were significantly higher in women with Hashimoto thyroiditis and lower in women with Graves' disease, the effects were higher for right 2D:4D. The mean length of right 4D was significantly lower in the examined women with Hashimoto thyroiditis than in Graves' disease. Higher right and left 2D:4D in women with Hashimoto thyroiditis suggests that prenatal exposure to high levels of estrogens relative to testosterone may play a role in the development of this disease. Lower right and left 2D:4D in women with Graves' disease suggest a role of high prenatal androgens relative to estrogens in Graves' disease pathogenesis.
桥本甲状腺炎和格雷夫斯病是自身免疫性甲状腺疾病，在女性中的发病率远高于男性。甲状腺中存在雌激素受体，能够调节甲状腺的功能。手指长度比（2D:4D）被认为与胎儿期睾酮呈负相关，与胎儿期雌激素呈正相关。本研究旨在探讨桥本甲状腺炎和格雷夫斯病女性患者右、左手 2D:4D 之间的关系。该横断面研究共纳入 106 例自身免疫性甲状腺疾病女性患者：73 例桥本甲状腺炎患者和 33 例格雷夫斯病患者，同时纳入 70 例健康女性作为对照组。直接测量第二和第四指长度和体重、身高，并计算 2D:4D 和 BMI。与对照组相比，桥本甲状腺炎女性患者的右、左手 2D:4D 显著升高，格雷夫斯病女性患者的 2D:4D 显著降低，右侧 2D:4D 的影响更大。桥本甲状腺炎患者右 4D 的平均长度显著短于格雷夫斯病患者。桥本甲状腺炎女性患者的右、左手 2D:4D 升高提示胎儿期暴露于相对较高水平的雌激素可能在该疾病的发生中起作用。格雷夫斯病女性患者的右、左手 2D:4D 降低提示胎儿期雄激素相对雌激素在格雷夫斯病发病机制中起作用。
