People’s finger lengths may hold a vital clue to their drinking habits, a new study suggests. There is evidence that alcohol consumption is influenced by prenatal sex steroids – so experts from Swansea University and colleagues from the Medical University of Lodz decided to use a sample of students for their research into the subject.
Their findings, published in the American Journal of Human Biology, revealed relationships between high alcohol consumption and long 4th digits (ring fingers) relative to 2nd digits (index fingers). This showed that high prenatal testosterone relative to oestrogen is linked to high student alcohol consumption.
Professor John Manning said: “Alcohol consumption is a major social and economic problem. Therefore, it is important to understand why alcohol use shows considerable differences across individuals.”
The study used a sample of 258 participants – 169 of them female – and it revealed consumption rates varied between the sexes. In comparison to women, men show higher alcohol consumption and higher mortality from alcohol abuse.
He said: “A pattern like this suggests an involvement of sex hormones, such as testosterone and oestrogen. Digit ratio (2D:4D: the relative lengths of the 2nd and 4th fingers) is thought to be an index of early testosterone (long 4th digit) and oestrogen (long 2nd digit).
“It is known that alcohol-dependent patients have very long 4th digits relative to their 2nd digits, suggesting high testosterone relative to oestrogen exposure before birth. As expected, the associations were stronger for men than women.”
Now the researchers hope their conclusions will bring a better understanding of the factors underlying the pattern of alcohol consumption, from abstinence to occasional use to harmful dependence.
This is the latest paper which has highlighted Professor Manning’s work in the field of digit ratios. Previous research has examined how digit ratio may provide vital information concerning outcomes after contracting Covid-19, as well as oxygen consumption in footballers.
Source: University of Swansea
