Importance of Palmar Ridge Count in Screening Down’s Syndrome

Abstract

Dermatoglyphics is the study of epidermal ridges of skin. Palmar ridge counts are the ridges found on the surface of the palm between triradius a, b, c, and d. The study aimed to investigate the importance of palmar ridge counts in screening Down’s syndrome subjects in Nigeria. Sample size of 101 1(58 males and 43 females) was used for Down’s syndrome and 100 1(65 males and 35 females) for control subjects. A descriptive survey design was used, and subjects were conveniently selected from various special and inclusive schools in different part of Nigeria. The data were analyzed using Mann Whitney U test. The trait analyzed were AB ridge count (ABRC), BC ridge count (BCRC) and CD ridge count (CDRC). The results revealed ABRC and BCRC were significantly lower for Down’s syndrome when compared to control subjects (p<0.05). It was also observed that CDRC was significantly higher for Down’s syndrome when compared to control subjects on both hands and for both sexes (p<0.05). for male subjects the same result was observed except that the CDRC on the left hand was not significant, while for the female only the ABRC on the left hand was significant different between Down’s syndrome and control subjects (p<0.05). From this study, ABRC may serve as supportive, low cost adjunct procedure for the screening of Down’s syndrome in Nigeria. BCRC and CDRC may serve to support the use of ABRC in screening Down’s syndrome. All of these traits may strengthen the early diagnosis and screening of Down’s syndrome pending further stronger suggestions.