Journal article
Prenatal testosterone exposure is related to sexually dimorphic facial morphology in adulthood
Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences, Vol.282(1816), 20151351
2015
PMCID: PMC4614768
PMID: 26400740
Abstract
Prenatal testosterone may have a powerful masculinizing effect on postnatal physical characteristics. However, no study has directly tested this hypothesis. Here, we report a 20-year follow-up study that measured testosterone concentrations from the umbilical cord blood of 97 male and 86 female newborns, and procured three-dimensional facial images on these participants in adulthood (range: 21–24 years). Twenty-three Euclidean and geodesic distances were measured from the facial images and an algorithm identified a set of six distances that most effectively distinguished adult males from females. From these distances, a ‘gender score’ was calculated for each face, indicating the degree of masculinity or femininity. Higher cord testosterone levels were associated with masculinized facial features when males and females were analysed together (n = 183; r = −0.59), as well as when males (n = 86; r = −0.55) and females (n = 97; r = −0.48) were examined separately (p-values < 0.001). The relationships remained significant and substantial after adjusting for potentially confounding variables. Adult circulating testosterone concentrations were available for males but showed no statistically significant relationship with gendered facial morphology (n = 85, r = 0.01, p = 0.93). This study provides the first direct evidence of a link between prenatal testosterone exposure and human facial structure.
Details
- Title
- Prenatal testosterone exposure is related to sexually dimorphic facial morphology in adulthood
- Authors/Creators
- Andrew J. O. Whitehouse - The University of Western AustraliaSyed Zulqarnain Gilani - Univ Western Australia, Sch Comp Sci & Software Engn, Perth, WA 6009, AustraliaFaisal Shafait - The University of Western AustraliaAjmal Mian - The University of Western AustraliaDiana Weiting Tan - The Kids Research Institute AustraliaMurray T. Maybery - The University of Western AustraliaJeffrey A. Keelan - The University of Western AustraliaRoger Hart - The University of Western AustraliaDavid J. Handelsman - Anzac Research InstituteMithran Goonawardene - The University of Western AustraliaPeter Eastwood - The University of Western Australia
- Publication Details
- Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences, Vol.282(1816), 20151351
- Publisher
- Royal Soc London
- Number of pages
- 9
- Grant note
- University of Western Australia (EWA) DP 110102399; LP 110201008 / Australian Research Council International Postgraduate Research Scholarships in Australia UWA Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Women's and Infant's Research Foundation Telethon Kids Institute Edith Cowan University 634457; 1077966; 1042341 / NHMRC; National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia Curtin University Raine Medical Research Foundation
- Identifiers
- 991005592765407891
- Copyright
- © 2015 The Author(s)
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Vice Chancellery
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- Citation topics
- 6 Social Sciences
- 6.73 Social Psychology
- 6.73.1369 Evolutionary Psychology
- Web Of Science research areas
- Biology
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- ESI research areas
- Plant & Animal Science