Department of Human Biology, University of Wrocław, Wroclaw, Poland.
Evol Psychol. 2024 Jul-Sep;22(3):14747049241259187. doi: 10.1177/14747049241259187.
Morphological femininity depends mainly on estrogen levels at puberty and is perceived as a cue of a woman's biological condition. Due to the immunostimulant properties of estradiol, estradiol-dependent feminine traits are expected to be positively related to immunity. However, heightened immunity in women may increase the risk of autoimmune disease, thus the relationship between femininity and immune quality may be complex. This study aimed to assess the relationship between morphological femininity and both the occurrence and severity of Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) in women of reproductive age. Moreover, 95 women with HT and 84 without HT (all between 20 and 37 years) participated in the study. Morphological femininity was assessed based on somatic measurements of sexually dimorphic traits (2D:4D ratio, WHR, breast size, facial sexual dimorphism). The occurrence and severity of HT were assessed by serum TPOAb levels. The results showed that only the 2D:4D ratio of the right hand was higher in the HT group, indicating higher femininity in these women. However, there was also a positive relationship between facial femininity and TPOAb level in women with HT, indicating a higher severity of the disease. The results suggest that prenatal and pubertal exposure to estrogens may increase the probability or severity of autoimmune diseases in adulthood, but the relationship is tentative.
形态女性化主要取决于青春期的雌激素水平，被视为女性生物状况的一个线索。由于雌二醇具有免疫刺激特性，因此依赖雌二醇的女性特征预计与免疫力呈正相关。然而，女性免疫力的提高可能会增加自身免疫性疾病的风险，因此女性化和免疫质量之间的关系可能很复杂。本研究旨在评估形态女性化与生育年龄女性桥本甲状腺炎（HT）的发生和严重程度之间的关系。此外，95 名患有 HT 的女性和 84 名没有 HT 的女性（年龄均在 20 至 37 岁之间）参加了这项研究。形态女性化是根据性二态性特征的体部测量（2D:4D 比率、WHR、乳房大小、面部性二态性）来评估的。HT 的发生和严重程度通过血清 TPOAb 水平来评估。结果表明，只有右手的 2D:4D 比率在 HT 组中较高，表明这些女性的女性化程度较高。然而，在患有 HT 的女性中，面部女性化程度与 TPOAb 水平之间也存在正相关关系，表明疾病的严重程度更高。研究结果表明，产前和青春期暴露于雌激素可能会增加成年后自身免疫性疾病的发生概率或严重程度，但这种关系是暂定的。
