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:
- 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
- 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
- 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
