Fingerprint Ridge Count Difference of Adjacent Digits Reflects the Level of Masculinity in Hausa Population of Nigeria
Authors: Taura Magaji Garba , Taura Magaji , Adamu Lawan Hassan , Asuku Abdullahi 
Published: April 2020

Fingerprint ridge counts, which remain constant from the second trimester of pregnancy, are related to fingertip growth during early gestation. Once they are formed, the ridges do not transform anymore throughout the lifetime except in certain circumstances such as injury. Masculinity is one of the indices known to be associated with some chronic diseases. In other word, sexually dimorphic characters including masculinity play a vital role in personal identification. Despite all this, there is paucity of biological predictors of masculinity especially among Hausa population of Nigeria. The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of differences in fingerprint ridge count (dFRC) of adjacent digits in the determination of level of masculinity in Hausa population of Nigeria. This was a cross sectional study conducted on 300 adult Nigerians with mean age of 21.03±2.49 years (18–33 years). The percentage muscle mass (%mm) as a measure of masculinity was measured using bioelectric impedance machine. Direct sensing protocol was used to capture fingerprint for the determination of dFRC in radioulnar direction starting with thumb through little digit dFRC15. A significant difference was observed in dFRC12, dFRC13, dFRC15, dFRC24 and dFRC45 in both right and left sides. Increase in dFRC12, dFRC13, dFRC15, dFRC45 reflects increase in %mm in both hands whereas, reciprocal relationship was observed between dFRC24 and %mm. For the dFRC34 the significant difference was observed only in the right hand. In both hands, the dFRC12 was best predictor of the level of masculinity. In conclusion, dFRC exhibits potential as an index for the determination of level masculinity in Hausa population of Nigeria. Hence, the role of dFRC in health, disease and identification will be a promising tool for further exploration.
Relationship of percentage muscle mass with adjacent digits fingerprint ridge counts in Hausa population of Nigeria

Muscle Mass

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2‐ tailed)

N

dFRC

1

300

Rd12

.299**

1.35E‐07

300

Rd13

.226**

8.08E‐05

300

Rd14

.119*

0.038594

300

Rd15

.282**

7.17E‐07

300

Rd23

−0.10477

0.069983

300

Rd24

−.202**

0.000417

300

Rd25

−0.06044

0.296767

300

Rd34

−0.11208

0.05246

300

Rd35

0.051534

0.373759

300

Rd45

.158**

0.006222

300

Ld12

.266**

2.91E‐06

300

Ld13

.145*

0.011673

300

Ld14

0.06131

0.289838

300

Ld15

.235**

3.92E‐05

300

Ld23

−.134*

0.019792

300

Ld24

−.215**

0.00018

300

Ld25

−0.04011

0.488886

300

Ld34

−0.08713

0.132139

300

Ld35

0.106957

0.064294

300

Ld45

.195**

0.00068

300
Comparison of adjacent digits fingerprint ridge count based on percentage muscle mass in Hausa Population of Nigeria

dFRC

Class I

Class II

T

P Value

95% CI MD

Mean

SD

Mean

SD

Lower

Upper

Rd12

−1.29

0.87

−0.71

1.20

−4.78

2.81E‐06

−0.81

−0.34

Rd13

−1.57

0.75

−1.11

1.09

−4.31

2.18E‐05

−0.68

−0.25

Rd14

−1.52

0.82

−1.35

1.07

−1.55

1.22E‐01

−0.39

0.05

Rd15

−1.89

0.80

−1.41

1.01

−4.54

8.25E‐06

−0.68

−0.27

Rd23

−0.28

0.92

−0.39

1.09

0.94

3.47E‐01

−0.12

0.34

Rd24

−0.23

0.98

−0.64

1.05

3.46

6.15E‐04

0.18

0.64

Rd25

−0.60

0.96

−0.70

0.99

0.89

3.76E‐01

−0.12

0.32

Rd34

0.05

0.90

−0.25

0.93

2.81

5.34E‐03

0.09

0.50

Rd35

−0.31

0.80

−0.30

1.01

−0.09

9.24E‐01

−0.22

0.20

Rd45

−0.36

0.94

−0.06

0.95

−2.81

5.28E‐03

−0.52

−0.09

Ld12

−1.21

1.00

−0.65

1.09

−4.64

5.16E‐06

−0.80

−0.32

Ld13

−1.53

0.80

−1.18

1.10

−3.16

1.76E‐03

−0.57

−0.13

Ld14

−1.46

0.83

−1.30

1.02

−1.46

1.46E‐01

−0.37

0.05

Ld15

−1.89

0.92

−1.37

1.10

−4.43

1.30E‐05

−0.75

−0.29

Ld23

−0.32

0.90

−0.53

1.23

1.68

9.35E‐02

−0.04

0.46

Ld24

−0.24

0.93

−0.65

1.17

3.31

1.05E‐03

0.16

0.64

Ld25

−0.67

0.96

−0.71

1.10

0.33

7.38E‐01

−0.20

0.28

Ld34

0.07

0.76

−0.12

1.13

1.73

8.43E‐02

−0.03

0.41

Ld35

−0.36

0.79

−0.19

1.13

−1.51

1.32E‐01

−0.39

0.05

Ld45

−0.43

0.84

−0.07

1.05

−3.30

1.07E‐03

−0.58

−0.15