INTRODUCTION:

In ancient days, Babylonian archaeologists discovered fingerprints pressed into clay tablet as contract agreement records dating back to 1792–1750 B.C. The oldest known document which shows fingerprints dates back to the third century B.C. Chinese historians have found finger and palmar prints pressed into clay and wood writing surfaces and have summarized that they were used for official seals and legal documentation.^[1]Johann Christoph Andreas Mayer described that 'the arrangement of skin ridges is never duplicated in two persons'. He was probably the first to recognize this fact.

Dermatoglyphics is the scientific study of papillary ridges in the palm of the hands and soles of the feet (Purkinje 1823).^[2]For nearly a century and a half, there were no notable advances although in 1823, Jan Evangelist Purkyn described nine distinct fingerprint patterns including loops, spirals, circles and double whorls.^[3]

The importance of dermatoglyphics for practical purposes dates back to ancient China (1839) where it was used in the sale of the land. The deal of the land carried the impression of the finger prints as an acknowledgement of the deal.^[4] Sir William Herschel began the collection of fingerprints in 1856. He noted the patterns to be unique to each person and not altered by age.^[1] The first systematic study of the whole subject, however, was carried-out by Francis Galton around the year 1892. He divided the ridge patterns on the distal phalanges of the fingertips into three groups namely, arches, loops and whorls.^[5,6] Lauter (1912) provided the history of the fingerprint system. Hersched (1916) traced the origin of the fingerprints. Cummins (1927) found the impression of a thumb print on clay. Heindl (1929) reported the first fingerprint for identification purposes in Germany.^[4]

According to Harold Cummins and Midlo (1926), dermatoglyphics refers to the branch of science which studies the patterns of skins (dermal) ridges present on the fingers, toes and the soles of human1.^[7] The term dermatoglyphics is derived from the Greek terms “derma” which means “skin” and “glyphe” which means “carving or pattern” It is a new evolving science in the field of medicine which aids in categorizing and diagnosing individuals prone for particular type of diseases.^[8] Unusual patterns may indicate abnormalities in both gene and chromosome levels. Each person has a unique set of finger print which helps to identify them. Dermatoglyphs consist of alignment of sweat gland pores and they are shaped in the first trimester of gestation, thus forming during the 6–7th week of the embryonic period and completing after 10–20 weeks of gestation.^[9] During pregnancy, growth disturbances in intrauterine life may result in abnormal dermatoglyphic patterns.^[10] It is also considered to be a sensitive indicator for diseases and also serves as a diagnostic tool ^[11]

The most common form of periodontitis, the chronic periodontitis is a slowly progressing inflammatory disease involving the supporting tissues of the teeth causing progressive attachment loss and bone loss. Whereas, aggressive periodontitis is influenced by various other factors such as genetics in combination with environmental factors. It affects younger individuals with faster disease progression rate.^[12] Role of host genes in the etiopathogenesis of periodontal diseases have been useful in developing screening tools for identifying patients who are likely to develop disease. With this basis, the present study was conducted to find the possible link between specific dermatoglyphic patterns and periodontal diseases. The present study aimed to evaluate the dermatoglyphic patterns and correlate it with healthy individuals, aggressive periodontitis and chronic periodontitis patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

All subjects in this study were patients who visited the outpatient department of Saveetha Dental college, Chennai. It was made clear to the patients that their participation was voluntary. Written informed consent was obtained from patients. The study population consisted of 45 participants who were split into 3 groups. Group 1 consisted of healthy individuals (n=15), group 2 consisted of patients with aggressive periodontitis (n=15) and group 3 consisted of patients with chronic periodontitis(n=15). Finger prints were obtained from the left hand and analyzed using a magnifying glass. SPSS v20 was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS:

The results are shown in the bar charts. On comparing the pattern of individual fingers, the present study shows that there are increased whorls seen in the middle finger of chronic periodontitis patients and increased loops in aggressive periodontitis patients when compared to healthy subjects, however it was not statistically significant(p=0.897). Overall comparison of the dermatoglyphic patterns does not reveal any difference among the 3 groups. No significant difference was seen comparing chronic periodontitis with aggressive periodontitis group.

Graph 1: Distribution of dermatoglyphic patterns on thumb.

Graph 2: Distribution of dermatoglyphic patterns on index finger.

Graph 3: Distribution of dermatoglyphic patterns on middle finger.

Graph 4: Distribution of dermatoglyphic patterns on ring finger.

Graph 5: Distribution of dermatoglyphic patterns on little finger.

Graph 6: Overall comparison of dermatoglyphic patterns with disease.

DISCUSSION:

The epidermal ridges of the hand and feet were first studied by Joannes E Purkinje in 1823. William Hershel in 1858 first introduced fingerprints in India for personal identification. Sir Francis Galton in 1892 published the first book on finger prints. Cummins and Midlo in 1926 were the first to coin the term dermatoglyphics. Sir Harold Cummins is acknowledged as the father of dermatoglyphics.^[13]

Dermatoglyphics has proven its importance in anthropology, medicine, statistics and genetics. In recent days, the most common diseases such as Diabetes Mellitus and hypertension have using dermatoglyphics as a tool for diagnosis and early prediction of diseases in Japan and United States.^[14]

Neiswanger et al. conducted a case control study in Chinese individuals with non-syndromic cleft lip with or, without cleft palate (CL/P) and the control groups. Increased radial and ulnar loops were observed in cleft lip and palate patients.^[15]Sugerman etal. observed wider atd angles.^[16]Mathew et al. found an increased frequency of ulnar and radial loops than the arches and whorls in cleft lip with or, without cleft palate patients compared to controls.^[15]

Yilmas S et al conducted a study on early onset periodontitis patients and adult periodontitis patients and compared with periodontally healthy individuals. The study elaborated on dermatoglyphic patterns, which is known to be a genetic test method which suggests the various modes of inheritances of hereditary diseases. The diagnostic value of this test, which is the study of the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of patterns of ridges in skin, and the role of heredity on periodontal diseases were discussed.^[17]Atasu M et al in 2005 compared the finger-tip patterns of the juvenile Periodontitis (JP) patients with those of periodontally healthy individuals.They reported decreased frequencies of twinned and transversal ulnar loops on all fingers of the patients with juvenile Periodontitis, a decreased frequency of double loops on all fingers and radial loops were markedly increased on the right second digits of the patients with Rapidly progressing Periodontitis (RPP), and the increased incidence of concentric whorls and transversal ulnar loops on all fingers of the patients with Adult periodontitis.^[18]

A recent study done by Chatterjee et al revealed that the most common pattern of fingerprint observed in chronic periodontitis was the ulnar loop pattern and the second most common fingerprint pattern observed was Central pocket whorl.^[19]

CONCLUSION:

The limitations of this study were that only patients who visited the out-patient department were evaluated. However, further studies must undertake different forms of periodontal diseases in a larger population to confirm the suggestive link. The study was also retrospective in nature. A prospective, longitudinal study would help determine whether fingerprints are actually markers for disease susceptibility. In future, the genetic basis of this proposed link can be established.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

Nil.

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Received on 11.04.2019 Modified on 30.04.2019

Research J. Pharm. and Tech 2019; 12(9):4349-4352.

DOI: 10.5958/0974-360X.2019.00748.0