Is there an association between blood group O and epistaxis?

Abstract

Objectives. Blood group O is associated with lower expression of von Willebrand factor 2, although the clinical significance of this is unclear. Earlier work demonstrated lower admission rate for epistaxis among Asians compared with Caucasians in our unit (P < 0.01) 1, with one of the possible explanations being higher prevalence of blood group O among Caucasians. This study investigates whether blood group O is over‐represented in patients admitted with epistaxis.Method. Retrospective comparison of blood groups of Caucasian patients admitted at our institution (HISS data) with epistaxis during a six‐year period (2000–2005) with blood groups of the UK Caucasian population in general, determined from National Blood Service data.Results. A total of 1,261 Caucasians admitted with epistaxis were identified (readmissions excluded). Among epistaxis patients, 50% were blood group O (636/1261), but among the general population this was 46% (chi‐square test P < 0.05).Conclusions. Blood group O appears over‐represented in Caucasian patients admitted with epistaxis, compared with the Caucasian population in general. Although a causal relationship cannot be confirmed in this study, the possibility that blood group O is a risk factor for epistaxis warrants further investigation.References 1 Daniel M., Jaberoo M.C., Stead R.E., Reddy V.M., Moir A.A. Is admission for epistaxis more common in Caucasian than in Asian people? A preliminary study. Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci. (in press)2 Miller C.H., Haff E., Platt S.J., Rawlins P., Drews C.D., Dilley A.B., et al. (2003) Measurement of von Willebrand factor activity: relative effects of ABO blood type and race. J Thromb Haemost. 1, 2191–2197