Title: | The digit ratio (2D:4D) and testosterone co-predict vertical jump performance in athletic boys: Evidence of organizational and activational effects of testosterone on physical fitness |
Contributor(s): | Crewther, Blair T (author); Pastuszak, Anna (author); Sadowska, Dorota (author); Gorski, Michal (author); Cook, Christian J (author) |
Publication Date: | 2022 |
Early Online Version: | 2022 |
Open Access: | Yes |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113816 |
Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/63504 |
Abstract: | | The digit ratio (2D:4D) is a negative correlate of boy's physical fitness, and thought to arise from organizational effects of prenatal testosterone on different bodily systems. During human ontogeny, activational effects of testosterone on body size and strength offers another pathway to physical fitness. We tested these hypotheses by examining the organizational and activational effects of testosterone on vertical jump performance in athletic boys. Using a cross-sectional design, 173 boys (aged 9 to 18 years) were tested for standing height, body mass, body fat, fat-free mass, weekly training activity, training history, salivary testosterone and cortisol, R2D:4D, L2D:4D, and right-left 2D:4D (Dr-1), and vertical height in 3 different countermovement jump (CMJ) tests. A generalized additive model was employed to delineate age-related trajectories and predict CMJ performance. Our models yielded significant non-linear increases (or changes) in body size, current hormone concentration, training outcomes, and CMJ performance with chronological age. All 2D:4D measures were age invariant. The R2D:4D and testosterone were significant non-linear predictors of CMJ height with (R2 = 66.2%) or without (R2 = 54.3%) covariates, whereby a higher current testosterone concentration (up to a certain level) and a lower or higher R2D:4D were linked to better performance. The L2D:4D and Dr-1 had no predictive value. In conclusion, the R2D:4D and testosterone were co-predictors of CMJ height among athletic boys, with non-linear performance effects that differed in timing, tempo, and direction. Our findings confirm that testosterone can regulate a simple measure of boy's physical fitness through both an activational and organizational pathway.
Publication Type: | Journal Article |
Source of Publication: | Physiology & Behavior, v.251, p. 1-8 |
Publisher: | Elsevier Inc |
Place of Publication: | United States of America |
ISSN: | 1873-507X 0031-9384 |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: | 3209 Neurosciences |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: | tbd |
Peer Reviewed: | Yes |
HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal |
Appears in Collections: | Journal Article School of Science and Technology
|