Relationship between severity of vasomotor, somatic and psychological symptoms and the 2nd and 4th digit ratio in postmenopausal women

Relationship between Severity of Vasomotor, Somatic and Psychological Symptoms and the 2nd and 4th Digit Ratio in Postmenopausal Women The study was carried out to determine whether the severity of menopausal symptoms of women in postmenopausal period is related to 2D:4D ratio. The possible relationship to be found will help to predetermine the women and inform them about necessary precautions. Any previous study on this subject have not been seen in the literature. The sample of the study includes 213 postmenopausal women admitted to the Gynecology and Obstetrics clinics, and Family Medicine clinics of AYBU Medical Faculty Ataturk Education andResearch Hospital. Sociodemographic Information Form, Hand Measurement Form and Greene Climacteric Scale(GCS) were used to collect the data by the researcher on the basis of the literature knowledge. 2D:4D ratio was calculated by dividing the 2nd finger length by 4th finger length. Frequency and percentage were used in the representation of categorical data, and the continuous data were presented in terms of mean and standard deviation. Spearman correlation analysis and Mann Whitney U test were used to compare continuous data and the means, respectively. The age average of the individuals included in the study is 57,21 ± 7,66. When the symptoms were evaluated individually within the scope of GCS, the most common symptom was observed as 'muscle and joint pain' with a rate of 84.95%. Among the symptoms defined as 'severe', sexual reluctance was the most frequently surveyed with 39.44%. When we examined the relationship between demographic characteristics and scale scores, a negative correlation was found between age and anxiety, psychological symptoms, vasomotor symptoms and total score while there was a positive correlation between age and sexual symptom score. The 2D:4D ratio was 0,997 ± 0,048 for the right hand, and 0,999 ± 0,043 for the left hand. When the relationship between 2D:4D ratios and the scale scores was examined according to the hypothesis of our study, it was found that there was a negative correlation between the left 4th finger length and the total score. In addition, a positive correlation was found between 2D:4D ratios for both hand and anxiety, depression, psychological symptoms, somatic symptoms, vasomotor symptoms and total scores. It's known that 2D:4D ratio is determined mainly by hormonal environment and then by the effect of Allellic variation in Hox and CAG genes in the antanatal term. As a result of our research it has been concluded that the 2D:4D ratio which is connected both with the development of the phenotypic characteristics and many hormonal, behavioral and somatic conditions could also be effective in feeling postmenopausal symptoms. Key words: Menopause, 2D:4D ratio, Postmenopausal symptoms.