2D:4D Ratio in children at familial high-risk for eating disorders: The role of prenatal testosterone exposure

American Journal of Human Biology

Volumn 26, Issue 2, 2014, Pages 176-182

  Kothari, Radha ^a   Gafton, Joseph ^b   Treasure, Janet ^c   Micali, Nadia ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

^b EMMANUEL COLLEGE   (United Kingdom)

^c KING'S COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BIOLOGICAL MARKER; TESTOSTERONE;

ADULT; ANOREXIA NERVOSA; ARTICLE; BULIMIA; CHILD; FEMALE; FINGER; GENETICS; HISTOLOGY; HUMAN; LONGITUDINAL STUDY; MALE; METABOLISM; PREGNANCY; PRENATAL EXPOSURE; RISK FACTOR; UNITED KINGDOM; YOUNG ADULT;

ADULT; ANOREXIA NERVOSA; BIOLOGICAL MARKERS; BULIMIA NERVOSA; CHILD; ENGLAND; FEMALE; FINGERS; HUMANS; LONGITUDINAL STUDIES; MALE; PREGNANCY; PRENATAL EXPOSURE DELAYED EFFECTS; RISK FACTORS; TESTOSTERONE; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 84894239729     PISSN: 10420533     EISSN: 15206300     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.22495     Document Type: Article

References (68)

1. Abbott D, Dumesic D, Franks S. 2002. Developmental origin of polycystic ovary syndrome-a hypothesis. J Endocrinol 174:1-5.
2. American Psychiatric Association. 2013. The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association.
3. Baker JH, Girdler SS, Bulik CM. 2012. The role of reproductive hormones in the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Expert Rev Obstet Gynecol 7:573-583.
4. Baron-Cohen S, Jaffa T, Davies S, Auyeung B, Allison C, Wheelwright S. 2013. Do girls with anorexia nervosa have elevated autistic traits? Mol Autism 4:24.
5. Ben-Dor DH, Laufer N, Apter A, Frisch A, Weizman A. 2002. Heritability, genetics and association findings in anorexia nervosa. Israel J Psychiatry Relat Sci 39:262-270.
6. Bergman L, Eriksson E. 1996. Marked symptom reduction in two women with bulimia nervosa treated with the testosterone receptor antagonist flutamide. Acta Psychiatr Scand 94:137-139.
7. Boyd A, Golding J, Macleod J, Lawlor DA, Fraser A, Henderson J, Molloy L, Ness A, Ring S, Davey Smith G. 2013. Cohort profile: the 'children of the 90s'-the index offspring of the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children. Int J Epidemiol 42:111-127.
8. Bulik CM, Sullivan PF, Tozzi F, Furberg H, Lichtenstein P, Pedersen NL. 2006. Prevalence, heritability, and prospective risk factors for anorexia nervosa. Arch Gen Psychiatry 63:305-312.
9. Chamberlain NL, Driver ED, Miesfeld RL. 1994. The length and location of CAG trinucleotide repeats in the androgen receptor N-terminal domain affect transactivation function. Nucleic Acids Res 22:3181-3186.
10. Cohen-Bendahan CC, van de Beek C, Berenbaum SA. 2005. Prenatal sex hormone effects on child and adult sex-typed behavior: methods and findings. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 29:353-384.
11. Cotrufo P, Monteleone P, d'Istria M, Fuschino A, Serino I, Maj M. 2000. Aggressive behavioral characteristics and endogenous hormones in women with bulimia nervosa. Neuropsychobiology 42:58-61.
12. Coyne SM, Manning JT, Ringer L, Bailey L. 2007. Directional asymmetry (right-left differences) in digit ratio (2D:4D) predict indirect aggression in women. Pers Individ Differ 43:865-872.
13. Culbert KM, Breedlove SM, Burt SA, Klump KL. 2008. Prenatal hormone exposure and risk for eating disorders: a comparison of opposite-sex and same-sex twins. Arch Gen Psychiatry 65:329-336.
14. Culbert KM, Breedlove SM, Sisk CL, Burt SA, Klump KL. 2013. The emergence of sex differences in risk for disordered eating attitudes during puberty: a role for prenatal testosterone exposure. J Abnorm Psychol 122:420-432.
15. Demissie M, Lazic M, Foecking EM, Aird F, Dunaif A, Levine JE. 2008. Transient prenatal androgen exposure produces metabolic syndrome in adult female rats. Am J Physiol 295:E262-E268.
16. Donohoe TP, Stevens R. 1983. Effects of ovariectomy, estrogen treatment and CI-628 on food intake and body weight in female rats treated neonatally with gonadal hormones. Physiol Behav 31:325-329.
17. Even M, Dhar M, Vom Saal F. 1992. Transport of steroids between fetuses via amniotic fluid in relation to the intrauterine position phenomenon in rats. J Reprod Fertil 96:709-716.
18. Fernández-Aranda F, Krug I, Jiménez-Murcia S, Granero R, Núñez A, Penelo E, Solano R, Treasure J. 2009. Male eating disorders and therapy: a controlled pilot study with one year follow-up. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 40:479-486.
19. Field AE, Camargo CA, Taylor CB, Berkey CS, Roberts SB, Colditz GA. 2001. Peer, parent, and media influences on the development of weight concerns and frequent dieting among preadolescent and adolescent girls and boys. Pediatrics 107:54-60.
20. Fischer S, Smith GT, Cyders MA. 2008. Another look at impulsivity: a meta-analytic review comparing specific dispositions to rash action in their relationship to bulimic symptoms. Clin Psychol Rev 28:1413.
21. Fraser A, Macdonald-Wallis C, Tilling K, Boyd A, Golding J, Davey Smith G, Henderson J, Macleod J, Molloy L, Ness A, Ring S, Nelson SM, Lawlor DA. 2012. Cohort profile: the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children: ALSPAC mothers cohort. Int J Epidemiol 42:97-110.
22. Gobrogge KL. 2008. Genetic and environmental influences on 2D: 4D finger length ratios: a study of monozygotic and dizygotic male and female twins. Arch Sex Behav 37:112.
23. Goodarzi MO, Dumesic DA, Chazenbalk G, Azziz R. 2011. Polycystic ovary syndrome: etiology, pathogenesis and diagnosis. Nat Rev Endocrinol 7:219-231.
24. Harrison A, O'Brien N, Lopez C, Treasure J. 2010. Sensitivity to reward and punishment in eating disorders. Psychiatry Res 177:1-11.
25. Holland AJ, Sicotte N, Treasure J. 1988. Anorexia nervosa: Evidence for a genetic basis. J Psychosom Res 32:561-571.
26. Hönekopp J, Watson S. 2010. Meta-analysis of digit ratio 2D:4D shows greater sex difference in the right hand. Am J Human Biol 22:619-630.
27. Keski-Rahkonen A, Sihvola E, Raevuori A, Kaukoranta J, Bulik CM, Hoek HW, Rissanen A, Kaprio J. 2006. Reliability of self-reported eating disorders: optimizing population screening. Int J Eat Disord 39:754-762.
28. Klump KL, Gobrogge KL, Perkins PS, THORNE D, Sisk CL, Breedlove S. 2006. Preliminary evidence that gonadal hormones organize and activate disordered eating. Psychol Med 36:539-546.
29. Klump KL, Miller KB, Keel PK, McGue M, Iacono WG. 2001. Genetic and environmental influences on anorexia nervosa syndromes in a population-based twin sample. Psychol Med 31:737-740.
30. Klump KL, Suisman JL, Burt SA, McGue M, Iacono WG. 2009. Genetic and environmental influences on disordered eating: an adoption study. J Abnorm Psychol 118:797-805.
31. Lear S, Orit K, Apter A. 2007. Genetic influences in the development of eating disorders. In: Jaffa T, McDermott B, editors. Eating disorders in children and adolescents. New York: Cambridge University Press. p 70-81.
32. Lombardo MV, Ashwin E, Auyeung B, Chakrabarti B, Lai M-C, Taylor K, Hackett G, Bullmore ET, Baron-Cohen S. 2012a. Fetal programming effects of testosterone on the reward system and behavioral approach tendencies in humans. Biol Psychiatry 72:839-847.
33. Lombardo MV, Ashwin E, Auyeung B, Chakrabarti B, Taylor K, Hackett G, Bullmore ET, Baron-Cohen S. 2012b. Fetal testosterone influences sexually dimorphic gray matter in the human brain. J Neurosci 32:674-680.
34. Lucas M, Koff E. 2010. Delay discounting is associated with the 2D:4D ratio in women but not men. Pers Individ Differ 48:182-186.
35. Lutchmaya S, Baron-Cohen S, Raggatt P, Knickmeyer R, Manning JT. 2004. 2nd to 4th digit ratios, fetal testosterone and estradiol. Early Hum Dev 77:23-28.
36. Lydecker JA, Pisetsky EM, Mitchell KS, Thornton LM, Kendler KS, Reichborn-Kjennerud T, Lichtenstein P, Bulik CM, Mazzeo SE. 2012. Association between co-twin sex and eating disorders in opposite sex twin pairs: evaluations in North American, Norwegian, and Swedish samples. J Psychosom Res 72:73-77.
37. Madrid J, Lopez-Bote C, Martín E. 1993. Effect of neonatal androgenization on the circadian rhythm of feeding behavior in rats. Physiol Behav 53:329-335.
38. Manning JT, Bundred PE, Flanagan BF. 2002. The ratio of 2nd to 4th digit length: a proxy for transactivation activity of the androgen receptor gene? Med Hypotheses 59:334-336.
39. Manning JT, Bundred PE, Newton DJ, Flanagan BF. 2003. The second to fourth digit ratio and variation in the androgen receptor gene. Evol Hum Behav 24:399-405.
40. Manning JT, Fink B, Neave N, Caswell N. 2005. Photocopies yield lower digit ratios (2D:4D) than direct finger measurements. Arch Sex Behav 34:329-333.
41. Mazzeo SE, Mitchell KS, Bulik CM, Aggen SH, Kendler KS, Neale MC. 2009. A twin study of specific bulimia nervosa symptoms. Psychol Med 40:1203-1213.
42. McIntyre MH. 2006. The use of digit ratios as markers for perinatal androgen action. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 4:1-9.
43. Micali N, De Stavola B, dos-Santos-Silva I, Steenweg-de Graaff J, Jansen PW, Jaddoe VW, Hofman A, Verhulst FC, Steegers EA, Tiemeier H. 2012a. Perinatal outcomes and gestational weight gain in women with eating disorders: a population-based cohort study. BJOG 119:1493-1502.
44. Micali N, Northstone K, Emmett P, Naumann U, Treasure JL. 2012b. Nutritional intake and dietary patterns in pregnancy: a longitudinal study of women with lifetime eating disorders. Br J Nutr 108:2093-2099.
45. Micali N, Simonoff E, Treasure J. 2007. Risk of major adverse perinatal outcomes in women with eating disorders. Br J Psychiatry 190:255-259.
46. Micali N, Treasure J. 2009. Biological effects of a maternal ED on pregnancy and foetal development: a review. Eur Eat Disord Rev 17:448-454.
47. Miller MN, Pumariega AJ. 2001. Culture and eating disorders: a historical and cross-cultural review. Psychiatry 64:93-110.
48. Patterson MN, McPhaul MJ, Hughes IA. 1994. 8 Androgen insensitivity syndrome. Baillières Clin Endocrinol Metab 8:379-404.
49. Paul SN, Kato BS, Cherkas LF, Andrew T, Spector TD. 2006. Heritability of the second to fourth digit ratio (2d:4d): a twin study. Twin Res Hum Genet 9:215-219.
50. Quinton SJ, Smith AR, Joiner T. 2011. The 2nd to 4th digit ratio (2D: 4D) and eating disorder diagnosis in women. Pers Individ Differ 51:402-405.
51. Raevuori A, Kaprio J, Hoek H, Sihvola E, Rissanen A, Keski-Rahkonen A. 2008. Anorexia and bulimia nervosa in same-sex and opposite-sex twins: lack of association with twin type in a nationwide study of Finnish twins. Am J Psychiatry 165:1604-1610.
52. Raphael FJ, Rodin DA, Peattle A, Bano G, Kent A, Nussey SS, Lacey JH. 1995. Ovarian morphology and insulin sensitivity in women with bulimia nervosa. Clin Endocrinol 43:451-455.
53. Rolls BJ. 1991. Gender differences in eating behavior and body weight regulation. Health Psychol 10:133.
54. Rothschild-Yakar L, Eviatar Z, Shamia A, Gur E. 2011. Social cognition in eating disorders: encoding and representational processes in binging and purging patients. Eur Eat Disord Rev 19:75-84.
55. Ryan BC, Vandenbergh JG. 2002. Intrauterine position effects. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 26:665-678.
56. Sir-Petermann T, Maliqueo M, Angel B, Lara HE, Pérez-Bravo F, Recabarren SE. 2002. Maternal serum androgens in pregnant women with polycystic ovarian syndrome: possible implications in prenatal androgenization. Human Reprod 17:2573-2579.
57. Smith AR, Hawkeswood SE, Joiner TE. 2010. The measure of a man: associations between digit ratio and disordered eating in males. Int J Eat Disord 43:543-548.
58. Strober M, Freeman R, Lampert C, Diamond J, Kaye W. 2000. Controlled family study of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa: evidence of shared liability and transmission of partial syndromes. Am J Psychiatry 157:393-401.
59. Sundblad C, Bergman L, Eriksson E. 1994. High levels of free testosterone in women with bulimia nervosa. Acta Psychiatr Scand 90:397-398.
60. Tapp AL, Maybery MT, Whitehouse AJ. 2011. Evaluating the twin testosterone transfer hypothesis: a review of the empirical evidence. Horm Behav 60:713-722.
61. Teatero ML, Netley C. 2013. A critical review of the research on the extreme male brain theory and digit ratio (2D: 4D). J Autism Dev Disord 1-13.
62. Treasure J. 2013. Coherence and other autistic spectrum traits and eating disorders: building from mechanism to treatment. The Birgit Olsson lecture. Nordic J Psychiatry 67:38-42.
63. Urbanek M, Legro RS, Driscoll DA, Azziz R, Ehrmann DA, Norman RJ, Strauss JF, Spielman RS, Dunaif A. 1999. Thirty-seven candidate genes for polycystic ovary syndrome: strongest evidence for linkage is with follistatin. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 96:8573-8578.
64. Wade GN. 1972. Gonadal hormones and behavioral regulation of body weight. Physiol Behav 8:523-534.
65. Weltzin TE, Weisensel N, Franczyk D, Burnett K, Klitz C, Bean P. 2005. Eating disorders in men: update. J Mens Health Gender 2:186-193.
66. Williams JHG, Greenhalgh KD, Manning JT. 2003. Second to fourth finger ratio and possible precursors of developmental psychopathology in preschool children. Early Hum Dev 72:57-65.
67. Xita N, Tsatsoulis A. 2006. Fetal programming of polycystic ovary syndrome by androgen excess: evidence from experimental, clinical, and genetic association studies. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 91:1660-1666.
68. Zucker NL, Losh M, Bulik CM, LaBar KS, Piven J, Pelphrey KA. 2007. Anorexia nervosa and autism spectrum disorders: guided investigation of social cognitive endophenotypes. Psychol Bull 133:976-1006.