Assessment Of 2D:4D ratios amongst federal polytechnic Ekowe students, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Humans, primates, birds and reptiles have demonstrated sexually dimorphism in the length of their 2nd and 4th digits otherwise known as 2D:4D, with males on the average having lower values than females. This difference has been associated with the differential exposure of prenatal testosterone relative to estrogen during intrauterine life. This present study assesses the 2d:4d ratio amongst students of the federal Polytechnic Ekowe, Bayelsa state of Nigeria. A total of 299 students (males n=150 and females n=149) participated in the study. The length of 2nd and 4th digits were measured with digital Vernier caliper from the basal crease to the tip of the finger, and 2nd digit length (2D) was divided by 4th digit (4D) to obtain 2D:4D ratio. The results of this study showed no significant difference between 2D right and left and 4D right and left for same sex (0.98±0.04 and 0.98±0.04 for males and 0.96±0.05 and 0.96±0.05 for female). Sexual dimorphism exits between sexes which is an indication that prenatal hormones have played a fundamental role on humans, during developmental stages.