Association of Digit Ratio With Depression and Hopelessness in Females

Abstract

Introduction: Depression is regarded as the main cause of individual’s incapacity. One of the component of depression is hopelessness. This study was planned to examine if the digit ratio associates with depression and hopelessness status in the Iranian women. Methods: This cross-sectional study sample included 358 women aged between 20 to 32 years old. The palm side of both hands of individuals was photographed and then the length of index and ring fingers was measured by ImageJ. The Beck’s depression inventory II and Beck’s hopelessness scale (BHS) were used to measure the levels of depression and hopelessness respectively. ANOVA and Student’s t test was applied to compare the study groups in respect to the continuous data. Results: The results showed that the means of 2D:4D ratio of neither right nor left hands were significantly different between the depression study groups. The same insignificant results were derived with hopelessness status too. However, reanalyzing the data, while combination of depression and hopelessness was considered, showed a significantly lower digit ratio of the right hand in the women whit neither depression nor hopelessness (group 1) compared to the women with moderate/severe depression while holding a degree of hopelessness (group 2) (ratio mean for group 1: 0.978 ± 0.003 and for group 2: 0.992 ± 0.005; t = -2.417, P = 0.017). Conclusion: Our data suggested that the 2D:4D ratio of the right hand in the women associates with the severity of depression when accompanied by hopelessness.

Digit Ratio (2D:4D) Is Not Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease in the Elderly

“…Here, we identified a significant difference in the R2D:4D between female healthy and clinical controls, with women with symptoms of depression having a higher 2D:4D than healthy controls. This partly matches the existing literature on higher 2D:4D correlating with higher female depression scores [ 55 ] and higher 2D:4D in depressed female patients accompanied by hopelessness [ 86 ]. Nevertheless, the literature on 2D:4D and depression is ambiguous with, for example, studies also reporting null results for females but significant associations for males [ 53 ] and studies suggesting lower instead of higher digit ratio in depressed women [ 54 ].…”

Sex-specific association between prenatal androgenization (second-to-fourth digit length ratio) and frontal brain volumes in adolescents

“…This study also established in female adolescents an association between higher 2D:4D (indicative of lower prenatal androgenization) and smaller l-IFGorb volumes, a frontal brain region involved in emotion processing [ 79 ]. Smaller IFGorb volumes have been found in predominantly female samples of depression [ 80 , 81 ] and bulimia nervosa [ 82 ], and higher 2D:4D has been associated with a higher risk and more severe symptoms of depression [ 18 , 19 ] (but see also [ 83 ]) and bulimia [ 20 , 21 ] in females. Together with the results observed here, this might indicate that lower prenatal androgen load entails lower l-IFGorb volumes in females with an increased risk for later depressive and eating disorders.…”

“…It was also suggested to influence regional brain morphology [10], enhanced reactivity to positive relative to negatively valenced facial cues [11] in young males, and P2a response to motivational stimuli in a predominantly female cohort [12]. Moreover, prenatal exposure to androgens further interacts sex-specifically with the risk for and symptoms of mental illnesses in adolescence and adulthood [13], including addictive disorders [14][15][16], suicidal behaviors [17], depression [18,19], and eating disorders [20][21][22]. On the brain level, this could be particularly related to the structure and function of the prefrontal cortex, which plays a central role in cognitive control, modulates these behaviors, and associates with mental illness symptoms [23][24][25][26][27][28].…”

“…These prenatal androgen receptor modulations also cause differences in expression of genes relevant to addictive behaviors in the adult rodent brain [ 3 ]. Moreover, externalizing symptoms [ 56 ], aggression [ 6 ], and suicide [ 57 ] have been related to lower 2D:4D in males, but not in females, and higher 2D:4D has been associated with risk for and symptom severity of depression in females (but not in males) [ 18 , 19 ] and bulimia nervosa in females [ 20 , 21 ].…”

Design, synthesis, and in vitro and in silico studies of 1,3,4-thiadiazole-thiazolidinone hybrids as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors

“…27 In pharmaceutical, agricultural, and materials chemistry, 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives are widely used. Besides, they have a wide variety of biological effects, including antimicrobial, 28 anticonvulsant, 29 antioxidant, 30 anti-inflammatory, 31 anticancer, 32,33 antifungal, 34 antipsychotic, 35 antituberculosis, 36 and antidiabetic 37 activities. There are also some 1,3,4-thiadiazole nucleus-containing commercial drugs, such as acetazolamide, sulfamethiazole, cefazolin, atibeprone, and megazol, which are effective (Fig.…”