Abstract
BackgroundABO and Rh blood group systems are associated with many diseases including cancerous, infectious, non-infectious, bacterial and viral diseases. Studies have shown association of blood groups A and O with higher and lower odds for coronavirus disease 2019 positivity, respectively.MethodsThis is a single-center, retrospective study conducted at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi. We investigated the association of ABO and Rh blood groups with susceptibility to coronavirus disease 2019 infection, severity of disease, recovery period, and mortality of patients. Patients were enrolled from April 8, 2020 to October 4, 2020. A total of 2,586 real-time PCR (RT-PCR)-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients were recruited. Data was analyzed using chi-square test, odds ratio, and Mann–Whitney test to determine the association of blood groups.ResultsIn the 2,586 COVID-19-infected patients, the frequencies of A, B, O, and AB were 29.93%, 41.80%, 21.19%, and 7.98%, respectively. Of the patients, 98.07% were Rh positive. Blood group A (odds ratio, 1.53; CI, 1.40–1.66; p < 0.001) and B (odds ratio, 1.15; CI, 1.06–1.24; p < 0.001) is observed to be significantly associated with COVID-19 susceptibility, whereas blood group O (odds ratio, 0.65; CI, 0.59–0.71; p < 0.001) and AB (odds ratio, 0.66; CI, 0.59–0.71; p < 0.001) have low risk of COVID-19 infection.ConclusionA, B, and Rh+ are found to be more susceptible to COVID-19 infection, whereas blood groups O, AB, and Rh− are at a lower risk of COVID-19 infection. No association was found between blood groups and susceptibility to severity of disease and mortality.
Highlights
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that emerged from Wuhan, China in December 2019 has posed a great threat to global public health
Chi-square analysis showed that blood groups A and B were associated with high risk of infections, while blood groups O and AB were associated with a decreased risk of infection
Our study contrasts with these studies, as we found that ABO and Rh blood groups are not associated with mortality in COVID-19 patients
Summary
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that emerged from Wuhan, China in December 2019 has posed a great threat to global public health. It causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (Long et al, 2020; Wang et al, 2021). It has a wide range of symptoms like fever, dry cough, shortness of breath, muscle pain, fatigue, sore throat, ageusia, and anosmia. There are many cases where the COVID-19 infection has taken more than 14 days to present any symptoms (Fan et al, 2020; Huang et al, 2020). Studies have shown association of blood groups A and O with higher and lower odds for coronavirus disease 2019 positivity, respectively
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