Do sex differences in CEOAEs and 2D:4D ratios reflect androgen exposure? A study in women with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome.

Background Studies investigating the influence of perinatal hormone exposure on sexually differentiated traits would greatly benefit from biomarkers of these early hormone actions. Click-evoked otoacoustic emissions show sex differences that are thought to reflect differences in early androgen exposure. Women with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS), who lack androgen action in the presence of XY-chromosomes, enabled us to study the effect of complete androgen inaction. The main goal was to investigate a possible link between click-evoked otoacoustic emissions and effective androgen exposure and, thus, whether this can be used as a biomarker. In addition, we aimed to replicate the only previous 2nd vs 4th digit-ratio study in women with CAIS, because despite the widely expressed criticisms of the validity of this measure as a biomarker for prenatal androgen exposure, it still is used for this purpose.