title: 2D:4D digit ratio is associated with cognitive decline but not frailty in community-dwelling older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To understand the relation between 2D:4D ratio, frailty, and cognitive decline in community-dwelling elderly people.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 175 community-dwelling elderly people were included. To determine frailty, participants completed the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE-FI). Cognitive functioning was determined using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). 2D and 4D finger lengths of each hand were measured using a scanner. Barthel Index, Lawton, and Brody scale were also completed for each participant to determine the level of daily living functioning.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We did not find any correlations between 2D:4D ratio and frailty measures. We found a significant correlation between 2D:4D ratio and MMSE scores in the women sampled.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We cannot ascertain any contribution of prenatal exposure to androgens to the frailty status of community-dwelling elderly people. We found that reduced prenatal exposure to testosterone in women may contribute to the prevention of cognitive decline in elderly women.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Reabilitação Psicossocial, Escola Superior de Saúde do Instituto Politécnico do Porto e Faculdade de Psicologia e Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.|Departamento de Ciências do Desporto, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Bragança, Portugal.
authors.forename: Celina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Reabilitação Psicossocial, Escola Superior de Saúde do Instituto Politécnico do Porto e Faculdade de Psicologia e Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Tiago
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Coelho
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Panic and Respiration (LABPR), Institute of Psychiatry (IPUB) Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sérgio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Reabilitação Psicossocial, Escola Superior de Saúde do Instituto Politécnico do Porto e Faculdade de Psicologia e Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Nuno Barbosa
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3139-2786
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Rocha
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D000073496:Frailty / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D008297:Male; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology