Dermatoglyphic Patterns in Undergraduate Medical Students and their Association with Academic Performance: A Cross-sectional Study
Correspondence Address :
Preeti Prabhakarrao Thute,
Tathastu, In Front of Ajit Sunder Palace Apartment, Near Shanti Stup, Laxminagar, Wardha-442001, Maharashtra, India.
E-mail: preeti22276@gmail.com
Introduction: Dermatoglyphics is the study of fingerprint patterns, which are unique to each individual and remain unchanged after birth. It has been used in criminology for decades. In recent years, its role in screening various medical conditions has been established. Dermatoglyphics has also been associated with cognitive ability, making it a potential predictor of academic potential.
Aim: To investigate the association between dermatoglyphic patterns and the academic performance of medical students.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Anatomy, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Wardha, Maharashtra, India on 200 undergraduate medical students (94 males and 106 females) from January 2019 to December 2020. Fingerprint patterns were obtained using the standard ink method. The parameters studied included arches, loops, whorls, composites, Total Finger Ridge Count (TFRC), and the ‘atd’ angle. The academic performance of participants was assessed based on the marks obtained in the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the overall marks scored in the first-year university examination. Statistical analysis involved the use of arithmetic mean, standard deviation, Chi-square test, and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).
Results: In present study, the most common fingerprint pattern in the right hand was an arch (30.9%), followed by a whorl (24.5%). In the left hand, the most common fingerprint pattern was a whorl (40.6%), followed by an ulnar loop (20.1%), with no gender difference observed. Thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger exhibited different fingerprint patterns between the right and left hand, indicating asymmetry. This asymmetry was associated with lower academic performance. Higher academic performers in the NEET had a higher frequency of whorls and composites. TFRC showed no association with academic performance. Students with an ‘atd’ angle between 41 and 50° demonstrated higher academic performance.
Conclusion: The present study found that asymmetry of fingerprint patterns and a higher ‘atd’ angle (≥51°) were correlated with lower academic performance among medical students. These findings suggest potential directions for early academic intervention, provided multicentric studies are conducted in the future.
Association, Fingerprint, Symmetry
In 1823, Czech physiologist and biologist Joannes Evangelista Purkinje began studying the papillary ridges on the palms and soles (1). Harold Cummins, an anatomist from Tulane University, coined the term ‘dermatoglyphics,’ which refers to the study of epidermal ridges and their various patterns. Humans, apes, and monkeys are characterised by prominent ridges on their volar skin, particularly on the palms and soles, which act as an anti-slip mechanism, useful for gripping and improving touch sensation (2).
An epidermal ridge pattern first appears on the mounds of the skin in the early months of intrauterine life. Different patterns of epidermal ridges can be observed on the fingertips, the four interdigital parts, and the thenar and hypothenar eminences of the palms and soles. However, during the third to fourth month of intrauterine life, the process of epidermal ridge formation begins, accompanied by a decrease in the size of the mounds, which concentrates the appearance of ridge patterns. If any hereditary or environmental factors disturb fetal growth during this period, it can cause modifications in the configuration of the epidermal ridge pattern. Once formed, these patterns do not alter except in size (3). After birth, environmental factors do not significantly influence dermatoglyphic patterns (4).
Dermatoglyphics is a method used to obtain and study the impressions of the papillary ridges on the fingertips and palms. These ridges form narrow parallel or curved arrays, divided by narrow furrows. Ducts of the sweat glands are present along the top part of each ridge at regular intervals (5). Undulation with ridges and furrows occurs beneath the epidermis around the 12th week of development (6),(7). Every individual has a unique fingerprint, as epidermal ridges are genetically determined and their specific pattern remains constant throughout life. This makes fingerprints diagnostically significant for genetic disorders as well as for personal identification. The inheritance of fingerprint patterns follows a polygenic pattern (8),(9). Scientific evidence suggests a close association between dermatoglyphic prints (fingerprints and palm prints) and brain functions, as the development of the brain and the epidermal ridges of the hand from embryonic ectoderm occur during the same period (10),(11).
The cognitive capabilities of students, such as memory, speaking skills, and hearing skills, play a role in their learning and educational achievements (12),(13). These cognitive abilities are related to the features of the cerebral cortex (14). Academic achievements also reflect the level of reasoning and understanding (15). The student’s academic brain activity is reflected in the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of their academic success (16),(17).
Previous studies have suggested an association between specific dermatoglyphic patterns and intelligence as well as academic excellence (15),(16),(17). The present study aimed to determine whether a specific dermatoglyphic trait exists and is associated with the NEET score and academic performance of medical students in university examinations.
The present cross-sectional study was conducted on undergraduate medical students of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha, in the Department of Anatomy for a period of two years, from January 2019 to December 2020. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee (DMIMS(DU)/IEC/JUN-2019/8042). Informed consent was obtained after explaining the details of the study, and participation was voluntary.
Inclusion criteria: First year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students.
Exclusion criteria: Students with skin diseases involving the palms and those with hand deformities were excluded from the study.
Sample size: The study was conducted on 200 (94 males and 106 females) first year MBBS students.
Study Procedure
The fingerprints of the right and left hand palms of 200 medical students were obtained using the standard ink method after obtaining consent from the participants. With the aid of magnifying hand lenses, these prints underwent extensive dermatoglyphic examination.
The parameters studied were:
Qualitative, namely:
a. Arches
b. Loop (Ulnar loop with or without a central pocket, and Radial loop with or without a central pocket)
c. Whorl
d. Composite (Table/Fig 1) and
Quantitative, namely:
a. Total Finger Ridge Count (TFRC)
b. ‘atd’ angle
The ‘atd’ angle is calculated by drawing a line from the digital tri-radius ‘a’ to the axial tri-radius ‘t’ and from the digital tri-radius ‘t’ to the digital tri-radius ‘d’, and measuring the angle (4). The triradii a, b, c, and d are located just below the four digits of the hand, starting from the index finger to the smallest finger. The triradius T is found on the base of the palm between the hypothenar and thenar eminences (Table/Fig 2).
The parameters analysed to study the academic performance of the participants were the marks scored in NEET, which were obtained and verified from the NEET mark lists available with the students, and the overall marks scored in the first year university examination.
For the purpose of present study, NEET scores were categorised as follows: 115-300, 301-400, and 401-500. The scores for the university examination were categorised as <50, 50-60, and ≥61.
Statistical Analysis
The statistical analysis was conducted using the arithmetic mean, Standard Deviation, Chi-square test, and one-way ANOVA. The analysis was performed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27.0 and GraphPad Prism version 7.0. A significance level of p <0.05 was considered.
The study included 200 undergraduate medical students, consisting of 94 males and 106 females.
The most common fingerprint pattern in the right hand was arch (309, i.e., 30.9%), followed by whorl (245, i.e., 24.5%). In the left hand, the most common fingerprint pattern was whorl (406, i.e., 40.6%), followed by ulnar loop (201, i.e., 20.1%). Fingerprints of the thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger showed asymmetry between the right and left hand (Table/Fig 3),(Table/Fig 4).
The analysis of the association between fingerprint patterns and marks scored in NEET revealed that higher academic performers had a higher frequency of whorls and composites in the thumb, while low performers had a higher frequency of loops and arches. This difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the distribution of fingerprint patterns in the index, middle, ring, and little fingers between low and high scorers (Table/Fig 5).
The analysis of the association between fingerprint patterns and marks scored in the first year MBBS University examination showed no statistically significant difference, suggesting that fingerprint patterns are not associated with marks obtained in the university examination (Table/Fig 6). There was no difference in TFRC between the right and left hand (p=0.58) (Table/Fig 7), and no gender difference was observed in TFRC (p=0.22) (Table/Fig 8).
There was no statistical difference in TFRC concerning marks scored in NEET or in the first year MBBS university examination (Table/Fig 9). The mean ‘atd’ angle of the right hand was 45.55±3.99, and that of the left hand was 43.77±3.5. The total mean ‘atd’ angle was 44.66±3.86 (Table/Fig 10). The ‘atd’ angle in males was 44.73±4.19, and in females, it was 44.59±3.56. The difference between genders was statistically non significant (Table/Fig 11).
Significantly higher NEET scores were observed in students with an ‘atd’ angle between 41-50° (p-value 0.001). Students with an ‘atd’ angle between 41 to 50° also scored the highest marks in the first year MBBS university examination, although this difference was statistically non significant (p-value 0.25) (Table/Fig 12).
In present study, it was observed that the most common fingerprint pattern in both male and female students’ hands was whorl, followed by arch, composite, and loops.
The most important finding in the present study was the absence of ulnar loops with central pockets in all fingers of the left hand in both genders. In the right hand, the fingerprint pattern of the index finger differed significantly between male and female students. Rastogi P et al., reported that the most common pattern in males was whorls, while loops were more common in females (18). The results of the present study on fingerprint patterns were compared with various studies available in the literature (Table/Fig 13) (18),(19),(20),(21),(22),(23),(24),(25).
Offei EB et al., and Atinga BE and Kiwaku OE, reported a symmetrical palm print pattern in their studies (26),(27). They also observed that this symmetrical pattern was associated with higher academic performance. In present study, asymmetrical palm print patterns were observed among the students. However, authors did not find any association between symmetry and academic performance. Similar studies that report associations between different fingerprint patterns and academic performance have been tabulated in (Table/Fig 14) (23),(28).
The present study showed no statistically significant difference in TFRC between the right and left hands. Similar findings were reported by Prabhakaran M et al., while Jacob S et al., observed that the TFRC in the left hand is lower than the right hand (29),(30). In present study, no gender difference in TFRC was observed, which is consistent with the report of Prabhakaran M et al., (29). However, Reddy GG et al., Moore RT, and Khadri SY and Goudar ES reported higher TFRC in males than females (31),(32),(33). On the other hand, Cummin H and Midlo C and Nayak VC et al., observed that TFRC was higher in females compared to males, which is in contrast to our study (34),(35).
In the present study, no association was found between the TFRC and academic performance. Prabhakaran M et al., reported that the TFRC was highest in the intermediate intelligence group compared to the groups with high and low intelligence (29).
In this study, no gender difference related to the ‘atd’ angle was noted. Studies reporting the ‘atd’ angle in different populations have been tabulated in (Table/Fig 15) (36),(37),(38),(39). In the present study, high academic performers in the NEET and first year MBBS university examinations had ‘atd’ angles between 41 to 50°. Moderate academic performers had ‘atd’ angles between 31 to 40°, while lower performers had ‘atd’ angles between 51 to 60°. Similar findings were reported by Atinga BE and Kwaku OE, and Cesarik M et al., (27),(40). However, Rishi R and Sharma A observed no association between the ‘atd’ angle and academic achievements (41).
Limitation(s)
The present study is a small-scale study conducted within a single Institute and did not compare the results with students from other Institutes.
The findings of the present study suggest that there was no gender difference in fingerprint patterns. There was asymmetry between the right- and left-hand fingerprint patterns, which correlated with low academic performance. The ‘atd’ angle was found to be associated with academic performance, indicating that higher ‘atd’ angles (≥51°) were associated with lower academic performance. However, large-scale multi-institutional studies are warranted to obtain robust data and establish it as a reliable tool for predicting academic performance. Such studies would help identify low performers and enable the initiation of necessary interventions at an early stage.
DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2024/68107.18998
Date of Submission: Oct 17, 2023
Date of Peer Review: Nov 07, 2023
Date of Acceptance: Dec 28, 2023
Date of Publishing: Feb 01, 2024
AUTHOR DECLARATION:
• Financial or Other Competing Interests: None
• Was Ethics Committee Approval obtained for this study? Yes
• Was informed consent obtained from the subjects involved in the study? Yes
• For any images presented appropriate consent has been obtained from the subjects. Yes
PLAGIARISM CHECKING METHODS:
• Plagiarism X-checker: Oct 18, 2023
• Manual Googling: Nov 25, 2023
• iThenticate Software: Dec 26, 2023 (13%)
ETYMOLOGY: Author Origin
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