Abstract
BackgroundWe recently showed that women with four clinical phenotypes of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) do not demonstrate anatomical evidence of elevated prenatal androgen exposure as judged by a lower ratio of the index (2D) to ring (4D) finger. However, those findings conflicted with a previous study where women with PCOS had lower right hand 2D:4D compared to healthy female controls. Both these studies used Vernier calipers to measure finger lengths - a method recently shown to be less reliable at obtaining finger length measurements than computer-assisted analysis.MethodsNinety-six women diagnosed with PCOS according to the 2003 Rotterdam criteria had their finger lengths measured with computer-assisted analysis. Participants were categorized into four recognized phenotypes of PCOS and their 2D:4D compared to healthy female controls (n = 48) and men (n = 50).ResultsDigit ratios assessed by computer-assisted analysis in women with PCOS did not differ from female controls, but were significantly lower in men. When subjects were stratified by PCOS phenotype, 2D:4D did not differ among phenotypes or when compared to female controls.ConclusionComputer-assisted measurements validated that digit ratios of women with PCOS do not show anatomical evidence of increased prenatal androgen exposure.
Highlights
We recently showed that women with four clinical phenotypes of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) do not demonstrate anatomical evidence of elevated prenatal androgen exposure as judged by a lower ratio of the index (2D) to ring (4D) finger
Much controversy has surrounded the diagnosis of this condition but in 2003 experts proposed that a diagnosis of PCOS be based on the presence of two of three symptoms: 1) oligo or chronic anovulation, 2) biochemical and/or clinical hyperandrogenism and 3) polycystic ovaries on ultrasonography [1,2]
Left and right 2D:4D for men were significantly lower than 2D:4D in women with PCOS (Left Hand, d = -1.076; Right Hand, d = -1.252) and female controls (Left Hand, d = -0.741; Right Hand, d = -0.918)
Summary
We recently showed that women with four clinical phenotypes of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) do not demonstrate anatomical evidence of elevated prenatal androgen exposure as judged by a lower ratio of the index (2D) to ring (4D) finger. Those findings conflicted with a previous study where women with PCOS had lower right hand 2D:4D compared to healthy female controls. The differential effects of androgens during fetal development indicated that distinct programming windows existed for androgens to permanently modify future aspects of reproductive and metabolic function
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