Dermatoglyphic Patterns, 2D:4D, Hirsutism and Palmar Hyperhidrosis among Selected Dialects of Igala Ethnic Group of Nigeria

Dermatoglyphic Patterns, 2D:4D, Hirsutism and Palmar Hyperhidrosis among Selected Dialects of Igala Ethnic Group of Nigeria

Abstract:

Dermatoglyphics refers to the formation of naturally occurring ridges on certain parts of the body such as palms, fingers, soles and toes.Hirsutism is the occurrence of excessive body hair in female on parts of the body where hair is normally minimal or absent, such as face, chin and chest. 2D:4D is the ratio between the length of the 2nd (index finger) and the 4th (ring finger) which varies due to exposure to androgen. It is sexually dimorphic, as it has a lower value in males as compared to females. Palmar hyperhidrosis is also known as sweaty hands, it is a condition which involves excessive eccrine sweating in the palm. ATD angle is formed by the lines drawn from the digital tri-radius „a‟ to the axial tri-radius „t‟ and from this tri-radius to the digital tri-radius „d‟. Study of the distribution of the Dermatoglyphic pattern, 2D:4D,hirsutism and palmar hyperhidrosis among selected dialects of Igala ethnic group was done in order to see their association with other anthropometric variables. A cross sectional study was conducted and a total of 602 subjects participated in this study, 322 females and 280 males, which were secondary school students between the age range of 13-19years. The subjects fingerprint pattern was obtained by allowing them place the tip of each finger on the stamp pad, which was then imprinted on the questionnaire. The palm print patterns were obtained with the digital camera (TECNO DP7CPRO). The palm print pattern obtained was then printed out and the ATD triangle was measured at the point „t‟ using a protractor. The ridges were also counted for each digit with the aid of hand lens, from the core to the delta. The degree of hirsutism was determined by modified FerrimanGallway (F&G score).The digit length was measured on the ventral surface of the hand from the basal crease of the finger up to the tip and the occurence of palmer hyperhidrosis was determined in the subjects using the subjective method, the degree of sweating was observed and the subjects were also asked if they sweat on their palm and how often. The study showed that the overall mean age of the subjects was 16.65± 1.75 years. Males have higher occurrence of arch for the I, II, and V right digits while females had more occurrence of arch for the II and IV right digits. Females have more occurrence of loop for the I, II and V right digits while males had higher occurrence of loop for the III and IV right digits, Females have the higher occurrence for whorl in all digits except the III right digit. There was statistical significance for the II, III and V right digits (p<0.05).Males have higher occurrence of arch for all fingers on the left except the index finger, females have higher occurrence for loop for all fingers except the left thumb. Females also showed higher occurrence of whorl finger print patterns in all fingers except the left ring finger, and there was statistically significant difference for II, III, IV and V fingers (p = 0.001) except for the left thumb where p= 0.155. The result revealed that females with palmer hyperhidrosis have higher occurrence of arch for the II, III, and IV digits while females without palmer hyperhidrosis have higher occurrence of arch for the I and IV digit. Females without palmer hyperhidrosis have higher occurrence of loop for all digits except the thumb and little fingers. Females with palmer hyperhidrosis have higher occurrence of whorl finger print pattern on the I and V digits while females without palmer hyperhidrosis have higher occurrence of whorl for the III and IV digits. There was statistical significant for the III, IV and V fingers (P<0.05). Females without palmer hyperhidrosis have higher arch finger print pattern for I, IV and V digits while females with palmer hyperhidrosis have higher occurrence of arch for II, and III. Females with palmer hyperhidrosis have higher occurrence of loop finger print pattern for the II, IV and V digits while females without palmer hyperhidrosis have higher occurrence of loop for the I and III. Whorl finger print pattern have higher occurrence in females with palmer hyperhidrosis for the I and III digits while it was higher in females without palmer hyperhidrosis for the II and IV digits. Male subjects with palmer hyperhidrosis have higher occurrence of arch for all fingers except the little finger, loop finger print pattern was higher in males with palmer hyperhidrosis for the I, II and V fingers while those without palmer hyperhidrosis have higher occurrence of loop for the III and IV fingers. Males without palmer hyperhidrosis have higher occurrence of whorl as compared to those with palmer hyperhidrosis. There was statistically significant for the middle finger (P< 0.05). Male subjects with palmer hyperhidrosis have more arch finger print pattern for all fingers. Loop finger print pattern was higher in subjects with palmer hyperhidrosis for the I, II and IV fingers, while those without palmer hyperhidrosis had higher loop for the II and V fingers. Males without palmer hyperhidrosis had higher occurrence of whorl for the I, II and IV fingers while those with palmer hyperhidrosis had more occurrence of whorl for the III and V fingers. The difference was statistically significant for the left index and middle fingers (P<0.05) but was not statistically significant for the left thumb, ring and little fingers (P>0.05).Females from Omala have the highest occurrence of hirsutism (50%) while females from Igalamela have the lowest occurrence of hirsutism (17%). The association was statistically significant (P< 0.05). Females have higher right and left 2D:4D as compared to males, this is due to the fact the estrogen in females tends to increase the length of the index finger while the testosterone in males tends to reduce the length of the index finger. The right 2D:4D was higher than the left 2D:4D in both males and females.The right and left ATD angles were higher in females than in males, with the right ATD been higher than the left ATD in both males and females, this was statistically significant (p<0.05).The result revealed that mean value for the left total ridge counts was higher than the right total ridge count in both males and females. The difference was statistically significant (p=0.001).In conclusion females have higher 2D:4D, ATD angle, loop and whorl finger print patterns as compared to males. Male subjects have higher occurrence of arch finger print pattern and right and left total right counts as compared to females. Hirsutism was more prevalent in females from Omala while palmer hyperhidrosis was most prevalent in subject from Idah dialect.

Dermatoglyphic Patterns, 2D:4D, Hirsutism and Palmar Hyperhidrosis among Selected Dialects of Igala Ethnic Group of Nigeria

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