title: Prenatal testosterone exposure is related to sexually dimorphic facial morphology in adulthood.
abstract: Prenatal testosterone may have a powerful masculinizing effect on postnatal physical characteristics. However, no study has directly tested this hypothesis. Here, we report a 20-year follow-up study that measured testosterone concentrations from the umbilical cord blood of 97 male and 86 female newborns, and procured three-dimensional facial images on these participants in adulthood (range: 21-24 years). Twenty-three Euclidean and geodesic distances were measured from the facial images and an algorithm identified a set of six distances that most effectively distinguished adult males from females. From these distances, a 'gender score' was calculated for each face, indicating the degree of masculinity or femininity. Higher cord testosterone levels were associated with masculinized facial features when males and females were analysed together (n = 183; r = -0.59), as well as when males (n = 86; r = -0.55) and females (n = 97; r = -0.48) were examined separately (p-values < 0.001). The relationships remained significant and substantial after adjusting for potentially confounding variables. Adult circulating testosterone concentrations were available for males but showed no statistically significant relationship with gendered facial morphology (n = 85, r = 0.01, p = 0.93). This study provides the first direct evidence of a link between prenatal testosterone exposure and human facial structure.
authors.affiliation: Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, 100 Roberts Road, Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia 6008, Australia andrew.whitehouse@telethonkids.org.au.
authors.forename: Andrew J O
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Whitehouse
authors.affiliation: School of Computer Science and Software Engineering, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
authors.forename: Syed Zulqarnain
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Gilani
authors.affiliation: School of Computer Science and Software Engineering, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, National University of Science and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Faisal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shafait
authors.affiliation: School of Computer Science and Software Engineering, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
authors.forename: Ajmal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mian
authors.affiliation: Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, 100 Roberts Road, Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia 6008, Australia Neurocognitive Development Unit, School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
authors.forename: Diana Weiting
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Neurocognitive Development Unit, School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
authors.forename: Murray T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Maybery
authors.affiliation: School of Women's and Infants' Health, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Keelan
authors.affiliation: School of Women's and Infants' Health, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.affiliation: ANZAC Research Institute, University of Sydney, Concord Hospital, New South Wales 2139, Australia.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Handelsman
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry/Oral Health Centre of Western Australia, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
authors.forename: Mithran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goonawardene
authors.affiliation: Centre for Sleep Science, School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eastwood
mesh_terms: D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013739:Testosterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D014904:Western Australia; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone
keywords: face shape; hormones; prenatal; sexual dimorphism; testosterone