Dermatoglyphic Asymmetry Research Articles

Qualitative and quantitative dermatoglyphics of chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu) in Sri Lanka

BackgroundDermatoglyphics has been used widely in fields of medicine as a non-invasive diagnostic tool and an early assessment of risk for certain medical conditions. It reflects disturbances in fetal development during early prenatal weeks 14–22 when fingerprints develop. Dermatoglyphic asymmetry has been used to measure developmental instability during a specific period of human fetal development. Thus, the present study was planned to investigate whether digital and palmar dermatoglyphics of chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu) patients in Sri Lanka are different from healthy people.MethodsA case control study was carried out among CKDu patients (90 males, 90 females) from a CKDu endemic area and gender-matched two control groups; one group from a CKDu endemic region (90 males, 90 females) and another group from a CKDu non-endemic region (90 males, 90 females). Dermatoglyphics were obtained using photographic methods. Both qualitative and quantitative dermatoglyphic variables were defined and analyzed according to standard criteria. Both directional (DA) and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) were assessed.ResultsSeveral qualitative dermatoglyphic variables had significant association with CKDu. The triradii a1 variable was less evident in palms of CKDu cases in both genders when compared to both control groups. The FA of pattern discordance (right vs left hands) between CKDu cases and control group were significant in several digits. The FA of the ridge count was found significant in several digits, and also significant for A-B ridge count and total ridge count.ConclusionBased on these results, it is proposed that the mechanisms responsible for the development of CKDu might be associated with those responsible for FA observed in CKDu patients. Accordingly, a diagnostic tool based on FA could be developed for predicting risk prior to the development of CKDu.

Dermatoglyphics and Cheiloscopy as Key Tools in Resolving the Genetic Correlation of Inheritance Patterns in Cleft Lip and Palate Patients: An Assessment of 160 Patients.

The objective of this study was to correlate dermatoglyphics and cheiloscopy with genetic inheritance in cleft lip and cleft palate patients. This was a case-control study to look for asymmetry in finger and lip print patterns. All of the participants were divided into two equal groups (40 mothers and 40 fathers in each group). The data were analyzed by three evaluators who were blind to the study to avoid any chances of error. A sample of 160 sporadic participants were identified and evaluated. Group A was composed of 80 healthy parents not affected by cleft lip and cleft palate but had at least one child born with nonsyndromic cleft. Group B consisted of 80 healthy parents not affected by cleft lip and cleft palate and had healthy children without cleft lip and cleft palate. Main outcome measures were marked dermatoglyphic asymmetry and specific lip print pattern in the study group. We found marked asymmetry in various fingerprints and specific type II and type III lip print in the study group when compared with the control group. It was observed that groove count on the lip was significantly more frequent in study group parents. Our study determined that there is a significant correlation between increased dermatoglyphic asymmetry and specific type II and type III lip print pattern in parents of children born with cleft. This could act as an important screening marker for the prediction of cleft lip and cleft palate inheritance.

Fluctuating dermatoglyphic asymmetries in youth at ultrahigh-risk for psychotic disorders

Fluctuating dermatoglyphic asymmetry represents one specific class of minor physical anomaly that has been proposed to reflect prenatal insult and vulnerability to psychosis. However, very little is known about fluctuating dermatoglyphic asymmetry in youth showing symptoms of ultrahigh risk (UHR) for psychosis. Using high-resolution photographs of fingerprints and clinical interviews, the UHR group in this study showed greater fluctuating dermatoglyphic asymmetry compared to controls; however, this was not further linked to symptomatology. The results of this study provide an important perspective on potential biomarkers and support neurodevelopmental conceptions of psychosis.

Evaluating fluctuating asymmetry in a Brazilian population with non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate

Objective: The objective of this work was to analyse the levels of dermatoglyphic asymmetry between both parents and individuals with non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate (NSCL/P) and unaffected control trios. Methods: A case-control analysis was carried out of 51 affected trios (unaffected parents and NSCL/P subjects), and 50 unaffected control trios. Finger and palm prints were taken from each participant, and dermatoglyphic patterns, the number of lines on the digits, and the palmar angles were recorded. To determine the level of fluctuating asymmetry the case group was compared with the control group, significance accepted at p ≤ 0.05. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the atd angles (angle between the lines triradii a and t and triradii t and d) of fathers of those affected by NSCL/P, and the dermatoglyphic patterns of the affected mothers, with significantly more arches in the control group. However, in this study, multiple comparisons were used, and the results must be evaluated as initial findings and evaluated carefully since the significance disappears after correction for multiple comparisons. Other parameters did not differ between groups. There was no difference in parameters among patients affected by NSCL/P. Conclusions: Based on these results it is speculated that the mechanisms responsible for the formation of NSCL/P may be associated with those responsible for deviations in the asymmetry of the atd angles in the fathers and dermatoglyphic patterns of the mothers of affected patients. Besides, further studies are required to determine the real relationship between these conditions.

Mild dermatoglyphic deviations in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and average intellectual abilities as compared to typically developing boys.

Dermatoglyphics, ridge constellations on the hands and feet, are permanently formed by the second trimester of pregnancy. Consequently, they are considered “fossilized” evidence of a specific prenatal period. A high frequency of dermatoglyphic anomalies, or a high rate of dermatoglyphic asymmetry (discordance), is an indication of developmental instability (prenatal disturbances) prior to 24-week gestation. Most dermatoglyphic studies in psychiatry focus on adult schizophrenia. Studies on dermatoglyphic deviances and autism are sparse, include severely disturbed and intellectually retarded patients with autism, and are carried out mainly in non-Western European populations. In this study, finger print patterns, atd-angles, and palmar flexion crease patterns (PFCs) are compared between Western European adolescent teenage males, of average intellect, with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD; n = 46) and typically developing adolescent teenage males (TD; n = 49). Boys with ASD had a higher rate of discordance in their finger print patterns than TD boys. Thus, the hypothesized prenatal disturbances that play a role in the etiology of schizophrenia and severe autism might not be specific to these severe psychiatric disorders but might also be involved in the etiology of varying degrees of ASD.

Palm and Finger Print Characteristics in Nonfamilial Cleft Lip and Palate Patients and their Parents

The aim of this study was to investigate if Iranian individuals with nonfamilial cleft lip and palate (CLP) and their unaffected parents display more dermatoglyphic asymmetry than the normal population.The study group included 55 patients with nonfamilial CLP and their unaffected parents (38 fathers and 47 mothers). The control group included 60 healthy children and their parents (37 fathers and 50 mothers). Total ridge counts of each finger (TRC), atd angles, a-b ridge counts, and finger print pattern types of all participants were recorded. Asymmetry between the right and left hands of each individual was determined. Dissimilarity between pattern types on homologous fingers was compared using chi-square test. Asymmetry of other parameters was statistically analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test.There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of their asymmetry of atd angle, a-b ridge count, and pattern dissimilarity score. However, significant differences in mean TRC between CLP patients and control children were found for the right ring digit (P = 0.023), right little digit (P = 0.032), and left index digit (P = 0.005). Also, there were significant differences among CLP patients and control children (P = 0.022) as well as unaffected fathers of CLP patients and their control group (P = 0.020) in terms of type of finger print pattern.No enhanced fluctuating asymmetry was found in most of the dermatoglyphic traits in the population studied, which indicated a low degree of developmental instability of the sporadic cases of cleft deformity.

A complex evaluation of the asymmetry of dermatoglyphs

Altogether 20 traits of the fingers, 22 traits of the palm and 8 traits of the sole were taken into consideration, on both sides of the bodies of 1652 males and 1628 females. Numbers of asymmetrical variants of the traits within the whole complex of 25 pairs of traits were determined individually. In the case of descriptive traits, asymmetry was deemed to be the occurrence on either side of the body of non-identical variants of the traits, and for quantitative traits, the absolute difference of at least two ridges was accepted. These differences were marked with the value 1 (additionally 0.5 on the fingers when the difference concerned only the direction of the pattern). The sum of these values constituted the total number of asymmetric traits, which was expressed by the index: IA=number of asymmetric traits×100/25.For individual traits, the frequency of asymmetric variants was determined, and here the measure of asymmetry was expressed as the relations of their sum to the total numbers.In both sexes, the lowest level of asymmetry concerns patterns of the II inter-digital area, the thenar, the IV, III and I areas of the sole, and fingers 5 and 3, while the highest level concerns patterns of finger 2, asymmetry of C-line and A-line exits, the ridge count on the fingers and in the inter-digital areas of the palm. The greatest dimorphism is demonstrated by the asymmetry of the patterns of the II inter-digital area of the palm, finger 4, the IV area of the sole, the thenar, finger 1, line B and the ridge count on finger 2. As a consequence, the mean of the asymmetry index (IA) in males (46.24) is higher than in females (44.43).The proposed index of dermatoglyphic asymmetry (IA) may be used for comparative purposes in population, clinical, auxological and genetic research.

Dermatoglyphic asymmetries and fronto‐striatal dysfunction in young adults reporting non‐clinical psychosis

Growing evidence indicates that non-clinical psychotic-like experiences occur in otherwise healthy individuals, suggesting that psychosis may occur on a continuum. However, little is known about how the diathesis for formal psychosis maps on to individuals at the non-clinical side of this continuum. Our current understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia implicates certain key factors such as early developmental abnormalities and fronto-striatal dysfunction. To date, no studies have examined these core factors in the context of non-clinical psychosis. A total of 221 young adults were assessed for distressing attenuated positive symptoms (DAPS), dermatoglyphic asymmetries (a marker of early developmental insult), and procedural memory (a proxy for fronto-striatal function). Participants reporting DAPS (n = 16; 7.2%) and no-DAPS (n = 205; 92.7%) were split into two groups. The DAPS group showed significantly elevated depression, elevated dermatoglyphic asymmetries, and a pattern of procedural learning consistent with other studies with formally psychotic patients. The results indicate that the non-clinical side of the psychosis continuum also shares key vulnerability factors implicated in schizophrenia, suggesting that both early developmental disruption and abnormalities in fronto-striatal function are core aspects underlying the disorder.

Quantitative Dermatoglyphic asymmetry: A comparative study between Schizophrenic patients and control groups of West Bengal, India

Quantitative Fluctuating (FA) and Directional asymmetry (DA) of dermatoglyphics on digito-palmar complex were analyzed in a group of 111 patients (males: 61, females: 50) with schizophrenia (SZ), and compared to an ethnically matched phenotypically healthy control (males: 60, females: 60) through MANOVA, ANOVA and canonical Discriminant analyses. With few exceptions, asymmetries are higher among patients, and this is more prominent in FA than DA. Statistically significant differences were observed between patient and control groups, especially in males. In both sexes, FA of combined dermatoglyphic traits (e.g. total finger ridge count, total palmar pattern ridge count) are found to be a strong discriminator between the two groups with a correct classification of over 83% probability.

Affective instability, family history of mood disorders, and neurodevelopmental disturbance.

The association between affective instability and both family history of mood disorders and signs of neurodevelopmental disturbance was examined in a sample of 303 adults. Affective instability was measured using the borderline personality disorder "affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood" diagnostic criterion as assessed dimensionally using the Personality Disorder Interview--IV. Participants were interviewed concerning family history of mood disorders, with family history coded using the Family History Research Diagnostic Criteria. Minor physical anomalies, inconsistent hand use, and dermatoglyphic asymmetries were used to index neurodevelopmental disturbance. Affective instability was associated with elevated rates of family history of mood disorders, particularly among individuals who exhibited inconsistent hand use and greater minor physical anomalies. These associations could not be accounted for by shared variance with age, gender, negative affect, or personal history of mood disorders.

Dermatoglyphic Analysis in Parents with Nonfamilial Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Children

To test the hypothesis that unaffected parents with nonsyndromic bilateral cleft lip and palate children possess greater levels of dermatoglyphic asymmetry than the normal population and to test for the difference in the distribution of pattern types. Case-control study. Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Forty-five unaffected parents (45 men and 45 women) of children with nonfamilial bilateral cleft lip and palate anomaly were enlisted. A control group of 45 unaffected parents with at least two unaffected children and no prior family history of clefting were also simultaneously selected. Palm prints and fingerprints were taken from each participant, and total ridge counts, atd angles, and pattern types were determined. For each of the three dermatoglyphic measures, asymmetry scores between right and left hands were defined, and then asymmetry scores of unaffected parents and pattern types were compared statistically with the controls, using Mann-Whitney and chi-square tests. In contrast to total ridge count asymmetry, the asymmetry of at dangles in unaffected parents and the asymmetry of patterns (in unaffected mothers) were significantly higher in comparison with the controls. Furthermore,unaffected fathers had significantly more arches than the controls, but there were no significant differences in dermatoglyphic patterns of unaffected mothers and the controls. The findings suggest that an increase in the asymmetry of at dangles and pattern types in parents of sporadically affected children may reflect more the genetic base of this congenital malformation.

Prenatal maternal stress from a natural disaster predicts dermatoglyphic asymmetry in humans

Dermatoglyphic asymmetry of fingertip ridge counts is more frequent in schizophrenia patients than normal controls, and may reflect disruptions in fetal development during Weeks 14-22 when fingerprints develop. However, there are no data in humans linking specific adverse events at specific times to dermatoglyphic asymmetries. Our objective was to determine whether prenatal exposure to a natural disaster (1998 Quebec ice storm) during Weeks 14-22 would result in increased dermatoglyphic asymmetry in children, and to determine the roles of maternal objective stress exposure, subjective stress reaction, and postdisaster cortisol. Ridge counts for homologous fingers were scored for 77 children (20 target exposed [Weeks 14-22] and 57 nontarget exposed [exposed during other gestation weeks]). Children in the target group had more than 0.50 SD greater asymmetry than the nontarget group. Within the target group, children whose mothers had high subjective ice storm stress had significantly greater asymmetry than those with lower stress mothers, and maternal postdisaster cortisol had a significant negative correlation with the children's dermatoglyphic asymmetry (r = -.56). Prenatal maternal stress during the period of fingerprint development results in greater dermatoglyphic asymmetry in their children, especially in the face of greater maternal distress.

DETERMINING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DERMATOGLYPHICS AND SCHIZOPHRENIA BY USING FINGERPRINT ASYMMETRY MEASURES

Early detection and intervention strategies for schizophrenia are receiving increasingly more attention. Dermatoglyphic patterns, such as the degree of asymmetry of the fingerprints, have been hypothesized to be indirect measures for early abnormal developmental processes that can lead to later psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. However, previous results have been inconsistent in trying to establish the association between dermatoglyphics and schizophrenia. The goal of this work is to try to resolve this problem by borrowing well-developed techniques from the field of fingerprint matching. Two dermatoglyphic asymmetry measures are proposed that draw on the orientation field of homologous fingers. To test the capability of these measures, fingerprint images were acquired digitally from 40 schizophrenic patients and 51 normal individuals. Based on these images, no statistically significant association between conventional dermatoglyphic asymmetry measures and schizophrenia was found. In contrast, the sample means of the proposed measures consistently identified the patient group as having a higher degree of asymmetry than the control group. These results suggest that the proposed measures are promising for detecting the dermatoglyphic patterns that can differentiate the patient and control groups.

Dermatoglyphic asymmetry and hair whorl patterns in schizophrenic and bipolar patients

Dermatoglyphic quantitative counts, asymmetry between two hands, and hair whorls were assessed in schizophrenic, bipolar and normal samples. Higher dermatoglyphic directional asymmetry and lower fluctuating asymmetry in bipolar patients support their hypernormal asymmetries. An inverse association between hair whorl location and dermatoglyphic asymmetry in schizophrenia may show a higher probability of lateralization problems.

Genetics of Dermatoglyphic Asymmetry in Vaidyas of West Bengal, India

In this study of the genetics of dermatoglyphic asymmetry, we collected bilateral finger and palm prints of 824 individuals from 200 families including 2 generations from an endogamous caste (Vaidya) in Barasat, North 24-Parganas District, West Bengal. Two main types of asymmetry (fluctuating asymmetry and directional asymmetry) were calculated between the two hands. The study includes familial correlation between first-degree relatives, principal-components analysis, and maximum-likelihood-based heritabilities (by pedigree analysis). We found, first, that familial correlations in all possible pairs of relationships (except spouse correlation) were weak but positive; some were even statistically significant. No indication of assortative mating was observed, but the influence of maternal environment could not be discarded. The results also showed that X-chromosome linkage does not seem to be involved. A second major finding is that five principal factors could be extracted from all these asymmetric traits, explaining 74.207% of the overall cumulative variance. Asymmetry of finger and palmar areas were clearly separated by factor. In addition, the heritabilities of the extracted five factors were in the range of 8-24%. These estimates are in agreement with some previously published data. The heritabilities of the factors describing palmar asymmetry are slightly lower than those describing finger asymmetry. The present results support the hypothesis that both types of asymmetry have a genetic basis and are influenced by the intrauterine environment.

Genetic analysis of bilateral dermatoglyphic asymmetry in twins and their parents

The data for this study were collected on 64 twin pairs (30 MZ and 34 DZ) and their 128 parents. Two following hypotheses were evaluated: 1. Bilateral asymmetry is significantly genetically controlled; 2. The twinning phenomenon would affect the magnitude of bilateral asymmetry. The results revealed no statistically significant differences between mean values of MZ and DZ twins and their parents for the majority of the traits. Significant differences were recorded for only 6 of 96 comparisons (6%). Analysis of variance revealed separated sources of MZ, DZ and singleton variance. F-ratios, contrasting variances between different groups were significant for 26 of 96 comparisons (27%) showing heterogeneity of variance between zygosities and between twins and their parents. In addition, environmental covariance appeared to be larger for MZ than DZ with respect to directional asymmetry (DA) for all 16 traits and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) for 14 traits. These observations showed complex environmental determinism for bilateral asymmetry for the majority of dermatoglyphic traits. Significant genetic variance ratios (GVRs) were observed for four variables (25%) with respect to DA and three variables (18.75%) with respect to FA. All these significant GVRs were rendered insignificant because of evidence of greater environmental covariance for MZ twins, except possibly for DA for URC4.

Dermatoglyphic asymmetry and diversity in some pathologies

The evaluation of dermatoglyphic asymmetry represents a specific estimate of the stability of intrauterine development. In the present study, we analyzed the level of asymmetry and diversity in the radial and ulnar counts of each finger in 400 health Sardinian individuals and in 469 Sardinian subjects with four common diseases in Sardinia: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, arterial hypertension and multiple sclerosis.

Digit length ratios predict reactive aggression in women, but not in men

Considerable evidence suggests that digit length and dermatoglyphic asymmetry patterns in the hand are affected by early exposure to androgens. Because androgens play an important role in sexual differentiation of morphological and behavioral traits, digit length patterns often display sex differences. When present, sex differences in digit lengths are more pronounced on the right side as compared to the left side. Moreover, the ratio of the second to fourth digit length (2D:4D) in the right hand is inversely correlated with testosterone (T) in men. Because T is implicated in agonistic behavior, 2D:4D may be used as a marker of androgen exposure and subsequent behavioral variation in adulthood. Consequently, we investigated the relationships among 2D:4D, directional asymmetry of 2D:4D (left hand 2D:4D minus right hand 2D:4D) as a variant of T, and human reactive aggression. One hundred young men ( n = 51) and women ( n = 49) participated in our experiments (mean age = 20.1 years). Participants called two noncompliant confederates to solicit donations for a fictitious charity organization and selected follow-up letters after the calls. The force exerted when hanging up the phone and the “tone” of the follow-up letters were used to assess reactive aggression. High aggression scores were associated with high directional asymmetry of 2D:4D and masculinized (low) right hand 2D:4D, only in females and under high provocation. Directional asymmetry of 2D:4D was positively correlated with T in males (pooled data, n = 97). Taken together, these data confirm the predominantly right-sided influence of androgens on digit length and suggest that digit length ratios may be associated with female reactive aggression when sufficient provocation is present.

Interethnic comparisons of three endogamous groups of West Bengal with respect to two sets of variables

The present paper focuses on the interethnic comparison among three endogamous groups (a higher caste, a tribe and a religious group) with different ethnohistorical background. A total of 700 individuals were studied from their anthropometric and dermatoglyphic traits along with their asymmetries. Statistical comparisons were carried out through the use of student’s ‘t’ test and Sanghvi’s T2 statistics. Heterogeneity for most of the anthropometric and some dermatoglyphic traits supports their different origins. Though dermatoglyphic asymmetry doesn’t reveal significant discrimination, heterogeneity in anthropometric asymmetry corroborates with their different occupations. The anthropometric distances show greater values than the dermatoglyphic distances. This difference is probably due to the fact that anthropometry is not independent of environment and not a stable character like dermatoglyphic traits.

Dermatoglyphics, handedness, sex, and sexual orientation.

Both handedness and dermatoglyphic asymmetry reflect early, prenatal influences and both have been reported to be associated with male sexual orientation; handedness has been related to female sexual orientation as well. Neurohormonal and developmental perturbation are two competing hypothesis that attempt to explain these connections. We attempted to replicate these associations and to extend dermatoglyphic asymmetry findings to women. Dermatoglyphic directional asymmetry and fluctuating asymmetry were unrelated to sexual orientation. Homosexual women, but not homosexual men, had highly significant increases in non-right-handedness compared with same-sex heterosexual controls. Although this pattern of results does not allow resolution of the two competing models, it does lend additional support to a biological basis of sexual orientation.