ABO blood group is related to the prevalence, severity, and mortality rate of COVID-19

Abstract

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic is attributed to SARS-COV-2 virus rapidly spreading around the world as a global health emergency. The difference in the rate of infection and disease severity has raised doubts about the impact of genetic predisposition on the COVID-19 severity. Previous studies have proposed the relationship between blood group antigens as one of genetic risk factors involved in susceptibility to COVID-19. Herein, we aimed to delve into the association between ABO blood group and COVID-19 infection, severity, and mortality rate.

Methods

In this cohort study, the patients who referred to university-based referral hospital (Hazrat Rasool) in Tehran, Iran, with the positive PCR test for COVID-19 were followed up during 2021. They were classified as: (1) mild, (2) moderate, (3) severe, and (4) death based on disease severity. The demographic information including age, gender, and underlying disease and the patient's medical record such as blood type, intubation, and severity of illness was recorded. Then, the predefined variables were recorded in each group and compared with each other. Finally, the obtained findings were analyzed by SPSS version-22 software.

Results

Overall, 101 patients were included among which 51.5% (52 cases) were male and the rest were female. Their average age was 64.14 ± 16.37 years (ranged from 20 to 94 years). The most common blood group in affected cases was O + (37.6%) and then A + (35.6%). Also, the most underlying disease was hypertension and diabetes with a prevalence of 45.5% and 35.6%, respectively. 66.3% of cases died and 76.2% and 22.8% of cases presented severe and moderate form of COVID19, respectively. The average hospitalization time was 19.77 ± 18.34 days (the longest time of 150 days) compared to the 12.79 ± 10.45 days in ICU (the longest time of 55 days). In addition, the most common blood group amongst the hospitalized cases was O + which were significantly associated with the lower severity and mortality rate of COVID19 (p-value ≤ .0001).

Conclusions

The findings of current study suggest that A + blood group might be more susceptible to COVID-19 with significantly higher severity or mortality rate of disease while O + blood group might be less susceptible with longer survival and less severity of disease. Our results add to the growing body of evidences suggesting the blood group types may pave the way for early preventive measures and management approaches of COVID-19.