Abstract

 Background: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a metabolic and endocrine disorder that is often experienced by women of reproductive age. In utero androgen exposure may be responsible for the endocrine and metabolic disorders that characterize PCOS. One of the stages of fetal development that is affected by androgen hormone is the finger length ratio, especially the ratio of the 2nd digit to 4th digit (2D:4D).

Aims: To prove the importance of 2D:4D ratio as an anatomical biomarker in predicting the risk of developing PCOS in adulthood.

Methods: This study adopted case-control design of an analytical observational study. The subjects of this study were male control, female control, and PCOS cases who had fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The length of the 2nd and 4th digit were measured by digital vernier caliper. One-way Anova followed by Post Hoc are the statistical tests that were used to analyze the data.

Results: There were significant differences in the 2D:4D ratio of the right and left hands in between 3 groups with p-value 0.001 for right hand and 0.007 for left hand. Conclusion: Women with identical 2D:4D ratio pattern as men have the likelihood of developing PCOS in adult life and this biomarker can be used as an early detection tool for PCOS.