Purpose : The aim of this study was to compare the fingerprint patterns in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls.
Material and methods : The study included 136 patients with schizophrenia (72 males, 64 females) and 113 mentally healthy subjects (52 males, 61 females) of Bulgarian origin. Fingerprints were obtained using an ink method and were read with light (6D) magnification in accordance with the methods given by Cummins, Midlo. The data were analyzed with SPSS 17.0.
Results : Our results showed a higher mean score of whorls and lower mean score of loops and arches for both hands in schizophrenia males compared with their same-sex controls. Schizophrenia females had a higher mean score of arches and whorls, but lower mean score of loops for both hands, compared with the healthy females. The differences were statistically significant for the loops and whorls of the left hands in males, and for the loops of the left hands and those of both hands in females.
Conclusion : Within the context of neurodevelopmental hypothesis of mental disorders dermatoglyphic traits may become reliable biological markers of the timing of prenatal damage and the pathogenetic mechanisms behind it.
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