The length of the fingers would indicate the risk of suffering from schizophrenia.

A correlation that will give much to talk about and to investigate.

Research results often surprise us and can sometimes seem very debatable. As strange as the conclusions of a study published in the journal Clinical Anatomy, the length of the index and ring fingeras well as the asymmetry of both hands, could predict schizophrenia in males.

What is schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that causes severe distortion in causes severe distortion in thinking and perception of reality.. People suffering from this severe pathology experience hallucinations (visual or auditory), delusions, loss of contact with reality or a disorder of self-perception, among other symptoms. Generally, schizophrenics also suffer from loss of motivation, lack of energy, emotional disturbances or social withdrawal.

In Spain, this disorder affects half a million individuals, and its onset usually occurs during adolescence. adolescence (although also in childhood) or in early adulthood. It appears to begin at an earlier age in men than in women.

Although it is not known for certain what causes schizophrenia, there seems to be some consensus that it has to do with a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

As a study by the Center for Biomedical Research in the Mental Health Network (CIBERSAM), patients with schizophrenia have a life expectancy 10 to 20 years less than people without schizophrenia. than people without schizophrenia.

The study and the conclusions

The study, published in Clinical AnatomyThe study, conducted by researchers in Turkey, measured the length of 103 men with schizophrenia, then compared the data with the finger lengths of 100 healthy men.

For the study finger ratio was calculated (the length of the index finger divided by the length of the ring finger) and the researchers found that the men with schizophrenia had a longer longer index finger and a shorter shorter ring finger. This only occurred in the right hand, as no significant differences were found in the left hand. This asymmetry between the hands of people with schizophrenia is known as the "asymmetry index".

According to the director of the research, Dr. Taner Oznur, "the asymmetry index has potential utility as a diagnostic test to determine the presence of schizophrenia".

According to the researchers' conclusions, the key may lie in testosterone.

Much past research has shown that exposure to abnormal levels of testosterone in utero (during the fetal stage) can have a negative impact on brain development, increasing the risk of schizophrenia and other mental disorders. In addition, the same testosterone exposure in utero can also affect finger size and length.

But does this indicate that finger length predicts schizophrenia? Not exactly, because even if there is a correlation between finger length and schizophrenia, this does not mean that it is due to a causal relationship.It may be due to other variables or simply to chance. What does seem clear is that this research will provoke future research in this line to rule out or confirm these results.

On the other hand, this study has only been carried out with men; the results with women could be different.

Other results in the same line of research

This is not the first time that researchers have linked "finger ratio" to behavior. Previous studies have claimed that there is a relationship between finger ratio and sexual orientation, infidelity, academic performance, physical aggression, or Heart disease.

Bibliographic references

• Abdullah Bolu, Taner Oznur, Sedat Develi, Murat Gulsun, Emre Aydemir, Mustafa Alper, Mehmet Toygar. The ratios of 2nd to 4th digit may be a predictor of schizophrenia in male patients. Clinical Anatomy, 2015; DOI: 10.1002/ca.22527.