Finger Signs: Can You Tell If Someone Drinks by Looking at Their Fingers?

A study has shown that you can tell whether someone likes drinking by looking at their fingers. People whose ring fingers are longer than their index fingers drink more alcohol.

A study published in the American Journal of Human Biology found a link between excessive alcohol consumption and having a longer fourth finger compared to the second.

Researchers at Swansea University in the UK analyzed differences in alcohol consumption rates by gender among 258 participants, including 169 women. It was found that men consume more alcohol than women and have a higher mortality rate due to alcohol abuse. “This pattern shows the involvement of sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen,” the researchers said. “The relative length ratio of the second finger, index finger (2D), and the fourth finger, ring finger (4D), is considered an indicator of early testosterone.”

Patients with alcohol dependence are known to have very long fourth fingers compared to their second fingers, which indicates higher testosterone levels compared to prenatal estrogen exposure. This association was stronger in men than in women.

Male fetuses secrete testosterone from their testicles, and small amounts of testosterone are passed from the mother’s blood to both male and female fetuses. At the same time, the mother’s estrogen is also transferred to both male and female fetuses. Therefore, men have higher prenatal testosterone levels compared to estrogen than women.

Testosterone causes changes in the fetal brain and other organs. These changes become more active in men as testosterone levels surge during puberty. Differences in testosterone and estrogen levels have also been recorded in the relative length of the index and ring fingers. In other words, a long fourth finger means high testosterone levels and low estrogen levels.

The researchers said, “According to another study conducted in Europe and Asia, patients with alcohol dependence showed that their ring finger was significantly longer than their index finger. Our study results support these findings and show that this phenomenon occurs even in people without alcohol dependence.”