Evidence of sexual dimorphism in Fingerprint patterns of Children with Learning Disability

Background: Fingerprints are unique, permanent
impressions on the finger, which is genetically determined at birth.
Fingerprint pattern is an infallible means of personal bio identification and
could be a predictive marker for several congenital disorders. The relationship
between learning disability (LD) and fingerprint pattern is yet to be
established.

Objectives: This study compared the
fingerprint patterns between students with LD and Non-LD students with a sexual
dimorphic lens.

Materials
and Methods:
300 students (150 LD students and 150 non-LD students), aged between 3-25 years
were recruited for this descriptive cross-sectional study. Each
study group consisted of 75 males and 75 females. The different fingerprint patterns (arch, whorl, ulnar
loop, and radial loop), as well as the following ridge counts: total finger
ridge count (TFRC), absolute ridge count (ARC), ulnar ridge count (URC), and
radial ridge count (RRC) were accessed using a digital scanner and a
fingerprint reader.

Results: Students with LD showed a higher frequency of whorl (32.87%), while
non-LD students showed a higher occurrence of the ulnar loop (32.53%). TFRC,
ARC, and URC were significantly higher in females with LD than non-LD females (p=0.01, 0.03, and 0.00, respectively).
In contrast, males with LD showed significantly lower TFRC, RRC, and URC count
than the non-LD males (p=0.02, 0.01,
and 0.00, respectively).

Conclusion: Fingerprints pattern and
fingerprint ridge counts showed sexual dimorphism in LD and non-LD students.
The finger ridge count is amplified in subjects with LD and could be a good
predictive tool for LD.