J Forensic Sci, 2018

doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.13937
PAPER Available online at: onlinelibrary.wiley.com

CRIMINALISTICS

Anna Czech,1 Ph.D.; Aleksandra Szabelak,1 M.Sc.; and Artur Sowi

nski,2 M.Sc.

Changes in Fingerprints Depending on

Physiological Factors†

ABSTRACT: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of gender, body mass index, and time on the width of friction ridge impres-
sions in fingerprints and the content of sweat and sebum forming the print. The research showed that the friction ridge impressions of women
are significantly wider than those of men, and this tendency persists throughout the existence of the print. The differences may result from
the anatomical structure of the skin, as well as from the use of protective products such as creams, which are used more often by women. The
width of friction ridge impression is similar in underweight and overweight people, but greater than in those with normal body weight, and
the amount of sweat and sebum increases with body weight. The passage of time significantly reduces both the width of the friction ridge
impression and the content of sweat and sebum secretions in the print.

KEYWORDS: forensic science, fingerprints, dactyloscopy, print development, visualization, gender, BMI

Dactyloscopy is one of the major divisions of forensics. It
involves establishing the identity of a human being based on
identification of the friction ridges on the surface of the fingers,
hands, and feet (1). Due to features such as the indestructibility,
invariability, and uniqueness of these ridges, dactyloscopy is one
of the most common forensic techniques complementing modern
genetic methods (2,3). In some situations (identification of iden-
tical twins), dactyloscopy even has an advantage over genetic
testing. A characteristic arrangement of friction ridges, which
may differ in width, shape, length, and direction, creates reliable
identification material (4). The main factor determining the for-
mation of a print is secretions of sweat and sebum, which when
left on a surface replicate the pattern of the ridges or furrows,
called valleys, in a manner dependent on the substrate and on
the mechanism by which the impression is formed (5). Over
time, the substance forming the print dries up and loses its adhe-
sive properties (6).
The clarity and durability of fingerprints left at a crime scene
depend on many factors, including the structure and properties
of the substrate on which the print is left (in particular on the
absorbency of the substrate) (1), the amount of sweat and sebum
secretion (or other substance, such as blood, paint, or ink) that
was on the skin of the hands or feet (1), the temperature and
humidity of the environment or room where the print was left
1
Department of Biochemistry and Toxicology, Faculty of Biology, Animal
Sciences and Bioeconomy, University of Life Sciences in Lublin,
Akademicka 13, 20-950 Lublin, Poland.
2
Chief Commissioner of the Forensic Laboratory of the Voivodeship
Police Headquarters in Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
Corresponding author: Aleksandra Szabelak, M.Sc. E-mail: szabelak.alek-
sandra@gmail.com
†Financial support provided by the University of Life Sciences in Lublin,
Poland.
Received 30 July 2018; and in revised form 2 Oct. 2018; accepted 2 Oct.
2018.
(7), mechanical factors (8), the dynamics of print formation
(e.g., pressure or displacement) (8), the use of methods and
agents that prevent prints being left, for example, a greased sur-
face (9), diseases that the person leaving the print suffers from
(skin diseases that destroy the ridge pattern, e.g., leprosy) (10),
and the time elapsed since the print was left (11). It should also
be noted that the image of the print is affected by physiological
factors, which include the emotional state of the person, skin
type (dry, normal, or oily), physical exertion, or gender (7,12).
The amount of sweat and sebum left behind may also depend on
the body mass index (BMI), which indicates the approximate fat
content in the body (13). Obese people (higher BMI) usually
have more sweat and sebum on the fingers, which results in
clearer prints (13). However, no research has been carried out in
this area.
In connection with the above, we postulated that gender and
BMI affect the width of the friction ridge impression. Finger-
prints from men and people with a higher BMI will be more
pronounced (higher content of sweat and sebum) and more
durable.
In order to verify the research hypothesis, a study was carried
out to determine how the width of the friction ridge impression
and the content of sweat and sebum secretions forming the print
are influenced by gender, body mass index, and the time
elapsed since the prints were formed and whether these factors
are correlated.
The overriding goal of the research will be to determine the
age of a fingerprint, that is, the time elapsed since it was left at
the scene of the incident until it was revealed and preserved.
The possibility of precisely determining the age of a print would
have practical application in pretrial investigations as well as in
the trial stage. Sometimes suspects do not question the presence
of their prints at the scene of the incident, but their connection
with the incident. They may suggest different circumstances and
a different time the prints could have been left, in order to

© 2018 American Academy of Forensic Sciences 1

2 JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
undermine the clear evidence of a positive dactyloscopic opin-
ion. Therefore, determining the age of prints could be useful in
the case of prints that have been identified. Previous studies con-
ducted by other authors are burdened with a high degree of
uncertainty or are focused on the analysis of transformations of
individual components of the substance forming the print over
time (a very small amount of the substance is a great limitation).
Material and Methods
The study was carried out in the laboratory at the Department
of Biochemistry and Toxicology in the period from February to
April. Two hundred people (120 women—F and 80 men—M)
aged 20–25 took part in the study. These people were divided
into three groups. Group 1 consisted of 40 people whose BMI
indicated that they were underweight (BMI <18.5), including 25
women and 15 men; group 2 consisted of 110 people with nor-
mal BMI (18.5–24.99), including 70 women and 40 men; and
group 3 consisted of 50 overweight individuals (BMI ≥ 25.0),
including 25 women and 25 men. No one participating in the
study had performed any physical work that could have affected
the properties of the friction ridges on their hands. In order to
equalize the factors that could affect the result of the study, the
subjects were asked not to wash their hands for 4 h before pro-
viding the prints. They also completed a short survey regarding
treatment of their hands on the day of the test (e.g., whether they
had washed their hands with detergent or applied an emollient in
the morning). The tests were carried out between 11.30 am and
1.30 pm.
Prints were taken of the index finger of the right hand on a
microscope slide (degreased). The index finger of the right hand
was pressed on the slide for 3-sec with equal pressure. The
research material was stored at room temperature (Fig. 1), with
humidity of 50
5% and dust concentration of 0.11 mg/m3.
The fingerprints were examined 5 h after they were taken and
then after 7, 30, 60, and 90 days. An Olympus CX-31 laboratory
microscope was used. The fingerprints were analyzed under
4 9 magnification. Four friction ridges were selected for the
FIG. 1––Air temperature in the room and outside during the experiment.
analysis (Fig. 2), and their average width was calculated (width
of segments A, B, C, D, E, and F). The content of sweat and
sebum secretions in the prints was analyzed as well, by compar-
ing the friction ridge impressions to the result obtained after 5 h,
as 100% (this was a subjective assessment). The same segments
of the friction ridges were examined each time. The ridges
selected were located in the center of the fingerprint pattern.
Statistical Analysis
The results of the data analysis were entered into a Microsoft
Office Excel spreadsheet, which was used to calculate the aver-
age width of the four friction ridge impressions. SAS software
was used for the calculations. The basic statistical method used
to analyze the results was analysis of variance, for assessment of
the significance of differences between many means. The obser-
vations were described using the linear model yijkl = l + si +
gj + tk + eijkl, where si was the fixed factor gender (i = 1, 2), gj
the fixed factor BMI group (j = 1, 2, 3), tk the fixed factor time
(k = 1–5), and eijkl the residual error.
This is the simplest linear model, in which there is one experi-
mental factor. Two-way analysis of variance allowing the use of
two experimental factors was used for further analysis. The
observations were described using a model examining the influ-
ence of time, gender, and BMI on the average width of the fric-
tion ridge impression:
yijk ¼ l þ si þ tj ðsi tj Þ þ eijk
yijk ¼ l þ si þ gj ðsi gj Þ þ eijk
yijk ¼ l þ si þ gj ðti gj Þ þ eijk
Results and Discussion
The formation of fingerprints depends largely on the physio-
logical state of the body (6,14). Factors such as gender or BMI
 CZECH ET AL. . FINGERPRINTS DEPENDING ON PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS 3

of underweight people, the significantly wider friction ridge

FIG. 2––Example of analyzed fingerprint (our own work). Width of seg-
ments A, B, C, D, E and F selected for the analysis.
are very important in their formation, which was confirmed in
our study (Table 1). Contrary to expectations, however,
women’s friction ridge impressions were significantly wider than
those taken from men (p < 0.001). The difference in the width
of the ridges between the prints from women and men was 11%
(p < 0.001). These results are surprising, as research by Pleik
(6) shows that men secrete more sweat and sebum than women,
which contributes to the durability of their prints (15). This is
due in part to the number and distribution of sweat ducts, with
men having more of them, as well as to hormone metabolism
(16). Moreover, according to Kapoor and Badiye (17), the fric-
tion ridge impression in men’s fingerprints is usually as much as
10% wider. Examination of the questionnaires filled out in our
research showed that the majority of women participating in the
study, unlike the men, used emollients after washing their hands,
which may explain the results. According to Pleik et al. (6), pro-
tective substances, such as skin care products, may explain the
slower degradation of some samples.
Budnik et al. (18) showed that the width of the friction ridge
impression can be affected by body mass index (BMI). In our
experiment, the subjects with the highest BMI, that is, over-
weight individuals, and those with the lowest BMI, that is,
underweight persons, had fingerprints with significantly wider
ridges than subjects with normal BMI (Table 2). In the case of
people who are overweight, the results can be explained by the
larger skin area as well as the greater amount of sweat and
sebum produced and susceptibility to sweating (6). In the case
impression is probably due to the fact that this group was domi-
nated by women, who as mentioned above had used emollients
in the morning. This is also confirmed by the higher content of
sweat and sebum secretions in the prints from this group
(Table 2). Although the composition of the print was not deter-
mined, it can be assumed that the presence of moisturizers
reduces evaporation and that their constitution is chemically sim-
ilar to that observed for native skin secretions (6). Martini (19)
also drew attention to the more frequent use of moisturizers by
women than by men.
In addition to physiological factors, the persistence of finger-
prints is significantly influenced by the time elapsed from the
formation of the print to the time it is discovered and preserved
(8). The aging process of fingerprints is discovered based on
several months of observation of the prints (Fig. 3).
Over time, water—the main component of sweat—evaporates
from the sweat and sebum secretion (20), causing the fingerprint
to dry out and the solid components of the sweat to crystallize.
At the same time, the components of the sweat and sebum secre-
tion undergo numerous chemical changes, such as condensation,
evaporation, oxidation, racemization, absorption, and adsorption
(6), resulting in a loss of viscosity. This is a problem when fin-
gerprints are revealed using fingerprint powders, which rely on
the adhesion properties of the print (2).
Unsaturated fatty acids are the main components of fresh fin-
gerprint residues and undergo oxidation first, degrading as the
fingerprints age. According to the known autoxidation process of
unsaturated compounds (21), the aldehydes and oxoacids identi-
fied in aged fingerprints are assumed to be the products of
autoxidation of the unsaturated fatty acids. In addition, bacteria
of the genera Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Propionibacterium,
and Corynebacterium cause degradation of biological compo-
nents (22). As a result of these changes, the sweat and sebum
secretions begin to dry up and harden, and then the print
becomes completely unreadable. The changes, if the print has
not been damaged mechanically (wiped or washed off), do not
affect the impression itself (type and pattern), but its readability.
Dust and particles from a contaminated environment also signifi-
cantly reduce the readability of the print (23).
Dulling of the sweat and sebum secretions followed by the
loss of the readability of the prints was observed in our study
TABLE 2––Results of dactyloscopic analysis of fingerprints of people with
varying BMIs.

BMI Trait Mean Min Max SD SE V

TABLE 1––Results of dactyloscopic analysis of men’s and women’s
fingerprints. 1 Width 55.64a 35.92 66.68 1.68 8.21 14.75
2 Width 47.50b 24.07 77.58 1.27 11.24 23.67
Sex Trait Mean Min Max SD SE V 3 Width 56.37a 28.71 77.70 1.80 12.44 22.07
pvalue <0.001
F Width 52.68a 24.07 77.70 12.58 1.14 23.89 1 SSS 0.78a 0.25 1.00 0.05 0.23 29.12
M Width 47.34b 28.71 61.31 7.89 1.44 16.67 2 SSS 0.67b 0.10 1.00 0.03 0.30 44.86
pvalue <0.001 3 SSS 0.71ab 0.10 1.00 0.04 0.28 40.16
F SSS 0.70 0.10 1.00 0.29 0.02 41.10 pvalue 0.002
M SSS 0.70 0.10 1.00 0.29 0.05 41.28
pvalue 0.761 SD, standard deviation; SE, standard error; SSS, sweat and sebum secre-
tions; V, coefficient of variation.
SD, standard deviation; SE, standard error; SSS, sweat and sebum secre- a, b, Means in the same column (for width or SSS effect) with no super-
tions; V, coefficient of variation. script letters after them or with a common superscript letter following them
a, b, Means in the same column (for width effect) with no superscript let- are not significantly different (P≤0.05)
ters after them or with a common superscript letter following them are not 1—group of underweight persons; 2—group with normal BMI; 3—group
significantly different (P≤0.05). of overweight persons.
pvalue—significance level for mean values of friction ridge impression pvalue—significance level for mean values of friction ridge measurements
measurements between women and men. between three BMI groups
4 JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES

FIG. 3––Examples of impressions of friction ridge impressions of one person taking part in the study, 5 h and 7, 30, 60, and 90 days after the fingerprint
was taken (our own work). (A) Impression of ridges 5 h after print was taken. (B) Impression of ridges 7 days after print was taken. (C) Impression of ridges
30 days after print was taken. (D) Impression of ridges 60 days after print was taken. (E) Impression of ridges 90 days after print was taken.

(Table 3). Over time, the width of the friction ridge impressions
gradually decreased, by 7.3%, 6.7%, and then 0.14%, and then
increased by about 3% (p > 0.05). The slight increase in width
may be associated with the increase in room temperature during
the last week of the experiment (Fig. 1). This increase may have
caused the small amount of fatty substances remaining in the
print to “melt” and thus spread out on the surface of the slide.
This is a very valuable observation, because it indicates that
when analyzing imprints we should pay particular attention to
the atmospheric conditions prevailing where the print was made.
 CZECH ET AL. . FINGERPRINTS DEPENDING ON PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS 5

While in the final stage of the experiment, the width of the fric-
tion ridge impressions increased, the amount of sweat and sebum
systematically decreased, which was particularly evident 30 days
after the start of the experiment. The reduction in sweat and
sebum secretion on day 30 of the experiment was 28%, and its
content systematically, gradually decreased (by 25% between
days 30 and 60 of the experiment and by 40% between days 60
and 90 of the experiment). Similar results were reported by Popa
et al. (24).
The analysis of the relationship between gender and the time
elapsed since the print was submitted for analysis reveals that in
both men and women, the width of the friction ridge impression
in the fingerprint and the amount of sweat and sebum secretion
gradually decrease over time (Fig. 4). The greatest degradation
was observed 7 days after the prints were made—about 7% in
women and 8% in men. This was because the loss of water was FIG. 4––Change over time (days) in the width of friction ridge impressions
greatest in this period (1). After 90 days of the experiment, the (lm) and the content of sweat and sebum secretion (%) depending on gen-
friction ridge impressions of women were slightly wider than at der. F, women; M, men; F SSS, sweat and sebum secretion in women; M
SSS, sweat and sebum secretion in men.
60 days, which, as mentioned above, was probably due to their
use of moisturizers in the morning.
Irrespective of BMI, in all groups, the friction ridge impres-
sions became narrower up to the 60th day of the experiment
(Fig. 5). The analysis of the prints on day 90 shows that the
width of the ridges had increased slightly, especially in the
group with the lowest BMI, which, as mentioned above, was
represented mostly by women. The amount of sweat and sebum
secretion gradually decreased in the groups with each measure-
ment, but in underweight individuals, the amount of these secre-
tions was higher than in people with normal weight and those
with an elevated BMI (Fig. 5).

Summary and Conclusions

Using the results of this study and subsequent research, which
is already being conducted on a large scale, it will be possible to
determine the time elapsed from the moment a print is made to
FIG. 5––Change over time (days) in the width of friction ridge impressions
the time it is revealed and preserved. When data are available (lm) and the content of sweat and sebum secretion (%) depending on BMI.
regarding the individual (e.g., age, sex, and BMI), environmental 1—group of underweight persons; 2—group of people with normal BMI; 3—
conditions (ambient temperature, humidity, dust concentration, group of overweight persons; 1 SSS—sweat and sebum secretion in under-
ventilation, insolation, and exposure to precipitation), the type of weight persons; 2 SSS—sweat and sebum secretion in people with normal
substance forming the print, and the exemplar print taken from BMI; 3 SSS—sweat and sebum secretion in overweight persons
the individual, it will be possible to use the results of the
research to determine the age of the print (
measurement error)
in a very short time. If the environmental conditions are different from those prevailing during the research, it will be necessary to
determine the time at which the exemplar print will have the
same characteristics as the print obtained at the scene of the inci-
TABLE 3––Results of the dactyloscopic analysis of fingerprints over time. dent and thus its “age” (
measurement error).
However, it must be taken into account that most fingerprints
Time Feature Mean Min Max SD SE V
are developed at the scene of the incident using fingerprint pow-
a
5h Width 57.18 30.61 77.7 1.90 11.10 19.40 ders, which fixes the image from the moment of development.
7 days Width 52.99ab 27.20 75.93 1.98 11.52 21.74 Demonstration that the use of fingerprint powders has no signifi-
30 days Width 49.39ab 25.73 70.52 2.02 11.78 23.84
60 days Width 47.72b 24.07 69.99 2.39 12.89 27.00 cant effect on the impression (the width and continuity of the
90 days Width 49.26b 35.27 66.81 2.29 10.24 20.78 ridges) would substantially simplify the entire process. Other-
pvalue 0.002 wise, we would need a whole array of exemplar prints that
5h SSS 1.00a 1.00 1.00 would be treated with fingerprint powders at defined intervals.
7 days SSS 0.92a 0.60 0.95 0.01 0.07 7.57
To sum up, physiological factors such as sex or body mass
30 days SSS 0.72b 0.50 0.90 0.02 0.14 19.75
60 days SSS 0.54c 0.20 0.80 0.04 0.21 38.86 index affect the width of friction ridge impressions and the con-
90 days SSS 0.32d 0.10 0.60 0.03 0.17 54.02 tent of sweat and sebum secretions. The friction ridge impres-
pvalue <0.001 sions of women are significantly wider than those of men, and
SD, standard deviation; SE, standard error; SSS, sweat and sebum secre- this tendency persists throughout the existence of the print.
tions; V, coefficient of variation. Underweight and overweight individuals have friction ridge
pvalue—significance level for mean values of the friction ridge measure- impressions of similar width, which is greater than in people
ments from 5 h to 90 days. with normal body weight, and the amount of sweat and sebum
6 JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
forming the print increases with body weight. The passage of
time significantly reduces both the width of the friction ridge
impressions and the amount of sweat and sebum secretion.
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