A case-control study suggests a man whose ring finger is longer than his index finger is at higher risk of prostate cancer.

The study confirms that the ratio of the ring to index finger length is indicative of a man's risk of prostate cancer in his adulthood.

A. A. Rahman and colleagues from University of Nottingham compared 1,523 prostate cancer patients and 3,044 population-based controls for their right hand patterns and prostate cancer risk.

The researchers found men with their index fingers longer than their ring fingers were 33 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer.  

Of men aged 60 or younger, those with longer index fingers were 87 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer, compared with those with longer ring fingers.

The researchers said the ratio of the ring to index finger length or digit ratio is determined prenatally, influenced by the level of testosterone, a male sex hormone.  Prenatal exposure to high levels of this hormone is believed to be the cause for a longer ring finger and higher prostate cancer risk.

The findings were reported in the Nov 30 2010 issue of British Journal of Cancer.

P.L. Hurd and colleagues from University of Alberta reported in the Oct 22, 2010 issue of Behavior Genetics that the digit ratio was weekly associated with aggression.

A. Schwerdtfeger and colleagues from Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz in Mainz, Germany reported in the Jan 2010 issue of Accident, Analysis, and Prevention that men with longer ring fingers were more likely to commit traffic violations, meaning they were more aggressive than others.

Jimmy Downs