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ABO Blood Group Associated with COVID-19 Severity

June 23, 2020

It has long been known that different blood antigens may carry risks or protection depending on the disease, and coronaviruses are no exception.  New data from at least 3 recent studies, including one published in The New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that individuals with blood group O are less likely to have severe disease after becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2.  Based on genomic data gathered from over 8 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms from 1980 patients with severe COVID-19 in Italy and Spain, individuals with blood group A have a higher odds of severe COVID-19 (odds ratio, 1.45; 95% C.I., 1.20-1.75; P=1.48X10-4) compared to other blood groups; blood group O provides a protective affect against severe disease compared to other blood groups (odds ratio, 0.65; 95% C.I., 0.53-0.79; P=1.06X10-5).  Case-control studies from Wuhan, China confirm the protection provided by blood group O and risk of severity with blood group A.  The A and O blood group distribution in severe patients compared to the general population in Wuhan was found to be 39.3% vs. 32.3% for A (P=0.17) and 25.7% vs. 33.8% for O (P<0.01), respectively. No differences were found between cases and controls for B and AB blood groups.  Further studies of the mechanism and clinical risk associated with ABO blood group antigens and coronaviruses are needed.

References:

  1. Ellinghaus, D, Degenhardt, F, Bujanda, L, Buti, M,. et al. Genomewide association study of severe Covid-19 with respiratory failure. The New England Journal of Medicine
  2. Li J, Wang X, Chen J, Cai Y, Deng A, and M Yang. Association between ABO blood groups and risk of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia.  British Society for Haematology 2020
  3. Zhao J, Yang Y, Huang HP, Li D, et al. Relationship between the ABO blood group and the COVID-19 Susceptibility. medRxiv preprint.  11 March 2020

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