Longitudinal study reveals poor repeatability of the anogenital distance index in female mice, indicating that it is an unreliable marker for prenatal masculinization.
Prenatal androgens are generally assumed to permanently affect the morphology of external genitalia. In laboratory rodents, the ano‐genital distance index (AGDI) has become widely used as a marker of natural prenatal masculinization. A greater value should indicate a greater masculinization. The aim of this study was to assess the developmental stability of the AGDI in female mice during pre‐ (Days 1–21) and postweaning (Days 21–61) periods. Presuming that the AGDI reflects a permanent effect of prenatal masculinization, we hypothesized that the AGDI will be a developmentally stable morphometric measurement (interindividual differences in the AGDI measurement should persist over time). In contrast to our prediction, the AGDI showed poor repeatability both during pre‐ (.15) and postweaning (.22) periods, indicating developmental instability. (A value of 1 indicates perfect repeatability and a value of 0 indicates no repeatability.) The AGDI thus does not seem to be a reliable marker of prenatal female masculinization.
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Dušek et al. (2010) studied this question.
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