Does Blood Type Affect Severity of COVID-19 infection?

  

Canada, Denmark study: Blood Type may affect the Severity of COVID-19 infection

The results of two researches carried out in Canada and Denmark, published in the peer-reviewed online publication Blood Advances, sponsored by the American Society of Hematology recently, show that people with blood type O may have a lower risk of COVID-19. People with blood type O are less likely to have serious consequences (including organ complications) if they are sick.

 

University of British Columbia in Canada on COVID-19

Researchers from the University of British Columbia in Canada found that among 95 severe COVID-19 patients, 84% of patients with blood types A and AB require mechanical ventilation. For patients with O or B blood, this proportion is 61%. 

The median stay of the former in the intensive care unit was 13.5 days, while the median stay of the latter was 9 days. Researchers also found that more patients with type A and AB require dialysis to treat renal failure.

 

Dr. Mypinder Sekhon, the corresponding author of the study and the Intensive Care Unit of Vancouver General Hospital, said that when treating patients, blood type has always been "a lingering question in his mind", but "needs to be repeated in many areas. 

Research and prove the existence of the same problem" can finally determine the answer. The reason behind this difference is still unclear; one explanation may be that people with type O blood are less likely to clot, and clotting usually leads to more serious cases. 

But regardless of the patient's blood type, Dr. Sekhon does not believe that the influence of blood type will replace other "severity risk factors" such as age or comorbidities.

 

According to the results of a retrospective study conducted in Denmark published in the same period, blood type O may provide some protection against COVID-19 infection. 

COVID-19 Research in Denmark

The researchers compared the medical registration data of about 473,000 people tested for COVID-19 in Denmark with data from the general population of more than 2.2 million people in the control group. 

Researchers found that among patients who were positive for COVID-19, there were fewer people with blood type O, and more people with blood types A, B, and AB. The Danish study showed that people with blood type A, B or AB may be more susceptible to COVID-19 than people with blood type O. 

No difference in infection rates among people with blood types A, B, and AB

The researchers did not find any significant difference in infection rates among people with blood types A, B, and AB. Because the distribution of blood types varies from ethnic group to ethnic group, the researchers also compared ethnic groups and believe that fewer people tested positive for blood type O virus.

 

The corresponding author of the paper, Dr. Torben Barington of Odense University Hospital in Denmark and the University of Southern Denmark, said that it is very important to consider a suitable control group, because the distribution of blood types may be very different in different ethnic groups and different countries.

 Denmark is a country with a small population and a relatively single ethnic composition. It has a public health system and a registration center for laboratory data. Therefore, the research and comparison conducted in Denmark is population-based, which provides a strong basis for related results.

 

Conclusion

The potential role of blood type in predicting the risk and complications of COVID-19 infection has become an important scientific issue. 

The results of these two new studies add to the evidence that there may be a link between blood type and susceptibility to COVID-19 infection.

However, more research is needed to better understand the impact of blood type on COVID-19 patients.

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