While some studies found reduced digit ratios in males as compared to females, others did not 6, 7. Previous studies have sought to investigate the sexually dimorphic nature of the 2D:4D ratio but with varied outcomes. It is an easy, simple and non-invasive alternative method to amniocentesis in the investigation of in utero effect of androgen activity on human digit development 5. Prenatal androgen exposure has been suggested to be inversely correlated to the 2D:4D digit ratio 3, 4. According to the “Organizational hypothesis”, prenatal androgen (testosterone) exposure has a permanent masculinizing effect on brain organization and personality leading to sexually dimorphic traits. The second to fourth digit (2D:4D) ratio is a putative biomarker of prenatal testosterone and oestrogen exposure 1, 2. There are significant relationships between digit ratios in a mother–child population. The 2D:4DR of sons was significantly lower than daughters (P = 0.031). The daughters and sons showed leftward asymmetry while the mothers showed rightward asymmetry in digit ratios. The mean ± SD age of the mothers was 23.9 ± 3.67 years while the median (IQR) age of daughters was 116(54–240) days and sons, 134(54–240) days. The data were analysed in SPSS (v23) and GraphPad Prism (v8) at an alpha value of 0.05. The right (2D:4DR) and the left (2D:4DL) digit ratios were measured using computer-assisted analysis. This was a cross-sectional study from December 2020 to April 2021 involving 272 mothers, their daughters (n = 132) and their sons (n = 140). The study aimed to determine the relationship between digit ratios among a mother–child population in Ghana.
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