American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 153, No. 4 : 338-344
Copyright © 2001 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS |
Fingerprint Ridge-Count Difference between Adjacent Fingertips (dR45) Predicts Upper-Body Tissue Distribution: Evidence for Early Gestational Programming
1 Division of Diabetes Translation, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
2 Department of Anatomy, St. John's Medical College, Bangalore, India.
Fingerprint ridge counts, which remain constant from the 19th week of pregnancy, are related to fingertip growth during early gestation. Each finger corresponds neurologically to a spinal-cord segment ranging from C6 (thumb, relatively cephalad) to C8 (fifth finger, relatively caudad). The authors hypothesized that large ridge-count differences between fingertips (cephalad > caudad) might reflect fetal inhibition of caudal growth. Among 69 male Atlanta, Georgia, military recruits (1994–1997; aged 17–22 years), they tested associations of the anthropometric waist-to-thigh ratio with 20 ridge-count differences. Waist-to-thigh ratio was associated with the ridge-count difference between the right fourth and fifth fingertips only (dR45; r = 0.36, p = 0.003). The race-adjusted standardized regression coefficient was 0.22 (95% confidence interval: 0.03, 0.41). Since upper-body tissue distribution indicates disease risk, the authors then tested the association of age (an indicator of survivorship) with dR45 in a sample of 135 male patients from Bangalore, India (1989–1990; aged 38–82 years). Age was inversely associated with dR45 (r = -0.17, p = 0.04), notably among the 75 men with diabetes (r = -0.22, p = 0.06). An increased dR45 predicts an upper-body tissue distribution originating before the midpoint of pregnancy. The cause of this developmental pattern is unknown, but it may lead to reduced survivorship.
age factors; anthropometry; body constitution; dermatoglyphics; diabetes mellitus; risk factors; survival rate
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; dR15, difference between the ridge counts of the first and fifth fingers of the right hand; dR45, difference between the ridge counts of the fourth and fifth fingers of the right hand; WTR, waist-to-thigh ratio of circumferences