Sexual dimorphism in ratio of second and fourth digits and its relationship with metabolic syndrome indices and cardiovascular risk factors

Background: ratio of second and fourth digit (2d:4d) is known to be germane in analyzing utero concentrations of testosterone and estrogen in human and other vertebrates. 2d:4d had been linked several traits like athletes' abilities, reproductive success, risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease (cvd). metabolic syndrome (mets) is a clustering of several cardiovascular risk factors. waist circumference (wc), neck circumference (nc), body mass index (bmi) and waist-to-height ratio (whtr) are important in measuring mets. this study investigated sexual dimorphism in 2d:4d and its relationship with mets indices and cvd factors among adult residing in ilorin, north central nigeria. materials and methods: this is a cross-sectional, stratified multi-staged sampling study. participants residing in different neighborhoods were visited at home where finger lengths and anthropometric traits were measured.participants include 801 healthy adults aged 18-44 years (56% male) who had been living in the area for more than 3 years. results: males showed significantly lower 2d:4d than females (unpaired t-test; t [699] = 11.49, p = 0.001). a significant positive correlation was observed in mets markers and 2d:4d. whtr showed the highest correlation with 2d:4d in male (r = 0.461, p ≤ 0.001) and female (r = 0.408, p ≤ 0.001) when compared with bmi, nc and wc. all positive correlations recorded in this study were high in male and right hand. conclusion: our results showed that 2d:4d is sexual dimorphic and right hand 2d:4d as a predictor of mets is better. we concluded that 2d:4d is a proxy for mets and cvd risk factors in ilorin.