title: Effects of developmental and adult androgens on male abdominal adiposity.
abstract: We present results from 42 gay men who completed a survey including self-measurement of waist circumference, height, and weight, in addition to providing saliva samples for the assay of testosterone, and a photocopy of the right hand for the measure of second-to-fourth digit length ratio (2D:4D), proposed as a means of approximating androgenic effects during development. The analyses were conducted as a test of the recent hypothesis, proposed by Abbott et al. ([2002] J Endocrinol 174:1-5), that high prenatal androgen exposure causes greater deposition of fat on the abdomen relative to other depots. We found support for this hypothesis in men, albeit in a limited sample and with self-reported and self-collected data.
authors.affiliation: Harvard University, Department of Anthropology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. mmcintyr@fas.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Matthew H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: McIntyre
authors.forename: Susan F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Lipson
authors.forename: Peter T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Ellison
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry; D003625:Data Collection; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D013739:Testosterone / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone