The study recruited first-time mothers, and their children, who were receiving postnatal services at the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) clinic, located in the Tamale Metropolis in the Northern region of Ghana. This was a cross-sectional study from December 2020 to April 2021. This study, therefore, aimed to determine the 2D:4D ratios and how they are related in a mother–child population in Ghana. There is therefore the need for population-specific studies of digit ratios and their relationships. The 2D:4D ratio shows genetic and environmental variability such that findings from one population may not be extrapolated to another population. Although the process of digit ratio heritability is not well understood and will require further studies, genetic factors have been suggested 12, 14. Previous familial studies on digit ratios have indicated that the heritability of the 2D:4D digit ratio was up to 57% for the right hand and 48% for the left -hand 14. 13 who found significant correlations in mother–child digit ratios. The relationship between digit ratios in mother–child pairs have been demonstrated by previous authors including Shere, et al. Also, studies have shown that directional asymmetry which is defined as the right-left difference in digit ratio (Dr-l) are frequently leftward in males and rightward in females 11. 8 earlier hypothesized that the 2D:4D ratio fluctuates and only gains stability after 2 years of age, other longitudinal and population studies have found that the 2D:4D digit ratios increased with age 4, 9, 10. The association between age and digit ratios have also been studied. While some studies found reduced digit ratios in males as compared to females, others did not 6, 7. Previous studies have sought to investigate the sexually dimorphic nature of the 2D:4D ratio but with varied outcomes. It is an easy, simple and non-invasive alternative method to amniocentesis in the investigation of in utero effect of androgen activity on human digit development 5. Prenatal androgen exposure has been suggested to be inversely correlated to the 2D:4D digit ratio 3, 4. According to the “Organizational hypothesis”, prenatal androgen (testosterone) exposure has a permanent masculinizing effect on brain organization and personality leading to sexually dimorphic traits. The second to fourth digit (2D:4D) ratio is a putative biomarker of prenatal testosterone and oestrogen exposure 1, 2. There are significant relationships between digit ratios in a mother–child population. The 2D:4DR of sons was significantly lower than daughters (P = 0.031). The daughters and sons showed leftward asymmetry while the mothers showed rightward asymmetry in digit ratios. The mean ± SD age of the mothers was 23.9 ± 3.67 years while the median (IQR) age of daughters was 116(54–240) days and sons, 134(54–240) days. The data were analysed in SPSS (v23) and GraphPad Prism (v8) at an alpha value of 0.05. The right (2D:4DR) and the left (2D:4DL) digit ratios were measured using computer-assisted analysis. This was a cross-sectional study from December 2020 to April 2021 involving 272 mothers, their daughters (n = 132) and their sons (n = 140). The study aimed to determine the relationship between digit ratios among a mother–child population in Ghana.
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