Dankmeijer’s Index (D.I.) In Mental Retardation

Dermatoglyphics is the study of epidermal ridges on fingers, toes and feet of a particular individual.These are permanent ridges, once formed in the fetal stage, remain same throughout life. The freedom from environmental influences makes the study of dermatoglyphics more significant. Present study was done on five hundred mentally retarded patients from different districts of Haryana. Digital dermatoglyphics of mentally retarded patients was studied and Dankmeijer’s index was calculated. Maximum difference was observed in the DI (Dankmeijer’s index) of 1, 4 and 5 digits of mentally retarded patient and normal individuals. In toe pattern, highest value of DI was seen in the 5 digit. This study of dermatoglyphics of mental retardation carried out in order to establish an index for mentally retarded patients that would assist with clinical diagnosis of the diseases among other modalities.