Finger and palmar dermatoglyphics in diabetic subjects: a study in a Nigeria teaching hospital

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate digito-palmer print among diabetic patients visiting Irrua specialist teaching hospital (ISTH), Irrua Edo State, Nigeria. Methods: Using standard procedures of the ink method, the finger prints of both hands were obtained and palm photographed were taken from clinically diagnosed diabetic patients. The data were analyzed using SPSS (version 21) and results presented in tables. Results: The mean age of the patients was 59.64±9.73 years with 64% females. In the right hand the arch finger print was prevalent on the thumb and loop on the little, middle and ring fingers. In the left hand, the arch print was prevalent on the thumb, index and middle fingers. There was no significance between gender on the distribution of the various finger print patterns except in the right middle finger where females were significantly more likely (pConclusions: It appears that there exists a variation in the dermatoglyphic patterns in diabetic patients. However, there is a need for larger population-based studies to standardize the parameters and translate the findings into clinical and public health practice.