Abstract
The rapid global spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has strained healthcare and testing resources, making the identification and prioritization of individuals most at-risk a critical challenge. Recent evidence suggests blood type may affect risk of severe COVID-19. Here, we use observational healthcare data on 14,112 individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2 with known blood type in the New York Presbyterian (NYP) hospital system to assess the association between ABO and Rh blood types and infection, intubation, and death. We find slightly increased infection prevalence among non-O types. Risk of intubation was decreased among A and increased among AB and B types, compared with type O, while risk of death was increased for type AB and decreased for types A and B. We estimate Rh-negative blood type to have a protective effect for all three outcomes. Our results add to the growing body of evidence suggesting blood type may play a role in COVID-19.
Highlights
The rapid global spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has strained healthcare and testing resources, making the identification and prioritization of individuals most at-risk a critical challenge
We use observational healthcare data on 14,112 individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2 with known blood type in the New York Presbyterian (NYP) hospital system to assess the association between ABO and Rh blood types and infection, intubation, and death
We determined blood types using laboratory measurements recorded in the NYP/ CUIMC electronic health record (EHR) system
Summary
The rapid global spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has strained healthcare and testing resources, making the identification and prioritization of individuals most at-risk a critical challenge. We use observational healthcare data on 14,112 individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2 with known blood type in the New York Presbyterian (NYP) hospital system to assess the association between ABO and Rh blood types and infection, intubation, and death. The ABO blood type trait reflects polymorphisms within the ABO gene This gene is associated with a number of other traits, including risk factors for COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. A 2012 meta-analysis found that, in addition to individual variants, a non-O blood type is among the most important genetic risk factors for venous thromboembolism[34]. Previous work has identified associations between ABO blood groups and a number of different infections or disease severity following infections, including SARS-CoV-143, P. falciparum[44], H. pylori[45], Norwalk virus[46], hepatitis B virus[47], and N. gonorrhoeae[48]
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