Important, For Men: A long ring finger may mean you're a prostate cancer risk (with illustration)

Daily Mail ^ | 9:56 AM on 21st July 2010 | Pat Hagan

[rawhide]

Men with a long ring finger could be three times more likely to develop prostate cancer, research shows.

Doctors found that the risk increases if the ring finger on the right hand is significantly longer than the index finger next to the thumb.

But men whose ring fingers are only slightly longer, or are about the same length, are much less likely to get the disease.

The findings open up the possibility of screening men with longer fingers at an early age for signs of cancer. In the study, blood tests showed that men with longer ring fingers on their right hand had higher levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA).

This chemical is sometimes found in high levels in blood when cancer is present. The right hand was studied because the difference between the length of its ring finger and index finger is often greater than on the left, as it is more sensitive to hormonal changes in the womb.

The results are the latest in a long line of studies linking finger length to men's health, most of which highlight the benefits of a long ring finger.

They had their fingers measured from the crease where the finger joins the hand to the tip. Blood tests showed that men with much longer ring fingers had almost double the levels of PSA found in the blood of those with shorter fingers.

Three times as many of these men went on to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Researchers writing in the British Journal of Urology online said the 'digit ratio' - the difference in length between ring and index finger - could be used to predict which men could get cancer. 'Digit ratio is a predictor of high PSA levels and the presence of prostate cancer,' they said.

[redangus]

And I hope all your flannel shirts and the keys to the Subaru if you have one.

[T Minus Four]

I should do something about this permed mullet too :-)

[redangus]

Probably