Second digit and fourth digit ratio – an adjunct tool to predict obstructive sleep apnea.

ABSTRACT

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep related breathing disorder associated with high morbidity and mortality. Digit ratio (2D4D) a sexually dimorphic trait is a putative indicator of prenatal testosterone exposure and adult testosterone level. Present study aimed at investigating the correlation between 2D4D ratio and OSA based on the study conducted on 290 volunteered participants of both the sexes in the age range of 20-45 years. A significant negative correlation was observed for 2D4D with OSA related parameters specifically Berlin score, Epworth score and certain key anthropometric measurements, neck circumference (NC) and waist-hip ratio (WHR). The study thus showed that lower 2D4D ratio, increases risk of developing OSA and hence it can be used as an adjunct tool in the prediction of OSA.