QUANTITATIVE DERMATOGLYPHIC ANALYSIS IN MALE ALCOHOLICS

The authors of this paper are attempting to assess the existence of ge netic predisposition for alcohol dependence by utilizing a quantitativ e analysis of the characteristics of the dermatoglyphs of digito-palma r complex. The sample of 117 male alcohol dependents and 200 phenotypi cally healthy males was analyzed by the methods of descriptive statist ics and by the analysis of variance which indicated statistically mean ingful difference in the number of ridges in the first and fifth finge r of both hands and in the number of all examined palm variables as we ll as in the size of the atd angle. By applying the discriminative ana lysis it was possible to separate the healthy population from the popu lation of the sick in 76.34% of cases. Five factors have been extruded by the factor analysis out of which the first was a digital factor wh ile the others were palmar for both groups. The factors III, IV and V differ among the groups in the extrusion of certain variables. All the se findings indicate an existing difference in the characteristics of the dermatoglyphs of digito-palmar complex between the patients suffer ing from alcohol dependence and the control group, and therefore, indi cate the genetic predisposition of alcoholism.