title: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and digit ratios in a college sample.
abstract: Diagnosticians recognize three subtypes of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) if there are developmentally inappropriate levels (six or more symptoms) of Hyperactive-Impulsive behavior, or Inattentive behavior, or both (Combined), respectively. ADHD may partly reflect androgen dysfunction, and an arguable proxy for prenatal androgen exposure is the 2D:4D finger ratio set at least as early as week 9 in the fetus; this is lower in men than in women. We examined the relationship between digit ratios and ADHD symptoms representing the three phenotypes: ADHD/Combined as measured by "summarized" (Rasched) scales, i.e., 1) the short version of the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and a total symptom list derived from the DSM IV, and the subdivided DSM IV into 2) ADHD/Inattentive and 3) ADHD/Hyperactive-Impulsive inventories, in a sample of European-descent college students (135 female, 52 male) not selected for ADHD. All digit ratios were calculated excluding the thumb. There were significant sex differences for the 2D:4D digit ratios of both hands (RH and LH), and between the RH 3D:4D and between the LH 2D:3D ratio. In females, the more masculine the LH 2D:4D ratio, the more the ADHD/Combined symptoms (both WURS and DSM) and the more the ADHD/Inattentive symptoms and ADHD/Hyperactive-Impulsive symptoms. More masculine ratios also correlated between the total WURS and RH 2D:3D, RH 2D:4D, and LH 2D:3D; and between the inattentive DSM symptoms and LH 2D:5D, and between the ADHD/Hyperactive and Impulsive symptoms and RH 3D:4D.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington 98225, USA. jcstvnsn@cc.wwu.edu
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Everson
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hipskind
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grimes
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Mahoney
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors