Giving science the finger-is the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) a biomarker of good luck? A cross sectional study.
Giving science the finger-is the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) a biomarker of good luck? A cross sectional study.
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DOI：
10.1136/bmj-2021-067849
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发表时间：
2021-12-15
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Jakobs F
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Smoliga JM;Fogaca LK;Siplon JS;Goldburt AA;Jakobs F
探讨随机机会、薄弱的研究方法或不适当的报告是否会导致声称具有统计显着性（但在生物学上无意义）的生物标志物关联，使用产前睾酮暴露的常见替代指标、第二至第四数字比率（2D：4D）和好运的随机指标之间的关系作为模型。横断面研究。美国大学运动表现实验室。数据收集时间为 2015 年 5 月至 2017 年 2 月。176 名成年人（74 名女性，102 名男性），包括大学生、教师和工作人员，没有影响手指长度的受伤、疾病或医疗状况史。 2D:4D，身体成分参数可能受雄激素影响（骨矿物质含量、骨矿物质密度、身体脂肪百分比），祝你好运（使用随机选择的扑克牌中的扑克牌作为替代）。 2D:4D 与选定的身体成分参数显着相关（Spearman 的 r s 范围 -0.26 至 0.23；P<0.05），但相关性因性别、参与者手工测量以及测量 2D:4D 的方法（通过复印或射线照相）而异。然而，观察到的最强相关性是通过放射线照片测量的男性右手 2D:4D 与扑克手等级之间的相关性（rs=0.28，P=0.004）。根据较低的 2D:4D 估计，产前接触更多的睾酮可以显着增加成年期的好运，并且还可以调节身体成分（尽管程度较小）。虽然这些发现与大量研究报告一致，即 2D:4D 与许多看似不同的结果相关，但它们并不意味着提供确凿的证据证明 2D:4D 是几乎所有事物的通用生物标志物。相反，2D:4D 和好运气之间的关联只是偶然，并为医学和科学研究中的可重复性危机提供了一个“方便”的例子。生物学上合理的假设、试验的预先注册、强有力的方法和统计分析、阴性结果的透明报告以及数据的公正解释对于生物标志物研究和临床研究的其他领域都是必要的。
To explore whether random chance, weak research methodology, or inappropriate reporting can lead to claims of statistically significant (yet, biologically meaningless) biomarker associations, using as a model the relation between a common surrogate of prenatal testosterone exposure, second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D), and a random indicator of good luck. Cross sectional study. University sports performance laboratory in the United States. Data were collected from May 2015 to February 2017. 176 adults (74 women, 102 men), including university students, faculty, and staff with no history of injuries, disease, or medical conditions that would affect digit length. 2D:4D, body composition parameters potentially influenced by androgens (bone mineral content, bone mineral density, body fat percentage), and good luck (using poker hands from randomly selected playing cards as a surrogate). 2D:4D significantly correlated with select body composition parameters (Spearman’s r s range −0.26 to 0.23; P<0.05), but the correlations varied by sex, participant hand measured, and the method of measuring 2D:4D (by photocopy or radiography). However, the strongest correlation observed was between right hand 2D:4D in men measured by radiograph and poker hand rank (r s=0.28, P=0.004). Greater prenatal exposure to testosterone, as estimated by a lower 2D:4D, significantly increases good luck in adulthood, and also modulates body composition (albeit to a lesser degree). While these findings are consistent with a wealth of research reporting that 2D:4D is related to many seemingly disparate outcomes, they are not meant to provide confirmatory evidence that 2D:4D is a universal biomarker of nearly everything. Instead, the associations between 2D:4D and good luck are simply due to chance, and provide a “handy” example of the reproducibility crisis within medical and scientific research. Biologically sound hypotheses, pre-registration of trials, strong methodological and statistical analyses, transparent reporting of negative results, and unbiased interpretation of data are all necessary for biomarker studies and other areas of clinical research.
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影响因子：
4.3
作者：
Austin, EJ;Manning, JT;Mathews, E
通讯作者：
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作者：
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