In a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer, researchers have revealed a connection between finger length and prostate cancer. It says that men whose ring fingers are longer than their index fingers are more likely to develop prostate cancer.
The so called “digit ratio” has been alleged to predict many different traits, risks, advantages and deficiencies. Studying “digit ratios” experts say men tend to have longer ring fingers, women more or less equal ring and index fingers – and is thought to be an indicator of one’s level of exposure to testosterone in the womb.
In 2002 it was found that men with longer ring fingers tended to be more fertile. It is the other way round for women. Testosterone is believed to protect against heart attacks, and a 2001 study showed a lower risk of early heart attacks in men with the smallest index-to-ring finger ratios. A 2007 study found that traders with longer ring fingers made more money than their short ring-fingered colleagues. They are also thought to be more aggressive, and more likely to take risks. Also lesbian women tended to have the more masculine (long ring, short index) finger arrangement. Men with longer ring fingers are worse drivers and it is vice versa for women. Previous studies have found women with long index fingers could be at greater risk of breast cancer.
Now latest research finds a connection of digit ratios with prostate cancer. The researcher team analysed 1,500 prostate cancer patients and about 3,000 healthy men. The participants were shown pictures of different finger length patterns and asked to identify the one most similar to their own right hand. More than half the men in the study had a shorter index than ring finger. The rate of prostate cancer among this group was about the same as the rate among the men whose fingers were the same length and who made up 19 per cent of participants. But the risk for those whose index fingers were longer than their ring fingers was reduced by 33 per cent. Men over 60 had a more pronounced pattern. They were 87 per cent less likely to be affected by prostate cancer if they had long index fingers.
According to Professor Ros Eeles, of the UK’s Institute of Cancer Research, “This exciting finding means that finger pattern could potentially be used to select at-risk men for ongoing screening, perhaps in combination with other factors such as family history.” Emma Halls, of the British charity Prostate Action, said the research was a step towards helping determine risk factors for prostate cancer.
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