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People with blood type O may face lower risk of coronavirus infection or have milder symptoms

More evidence show link between blood type and coronavirus risk

by Melvin Sanicas
October 16, 2020
in Health, News, Science
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Two retrospective studies in Blood Advances add evidence for an association between blood type and COVID-19 risk, indicating that people with blood type O could be less susceptible to infection and experience milder disease. But this does not necessarily confirm causation. Further investigations on the mechanism of the different susceptibility to COVID-19 between blood group A and O individuals are needed and regardless of your blood type, you need to follow public health recommendations.

The first study from Denmark compared data from around 473,000 COVID-19–positive individuals with a control group of 2.2 million people in the general population, finding fewer infected people with blood type O and more people with A, B, and AB types. No associations were found between non-O blood groups and comorbidities that might explain infection rate differences.

The authors hypothesize that the presence of virus-neutralizing anti-A and anti-B antibodies on mucosal surfaces of some type O individuals may explain the relative protection for this blood type.

The second study from Vancouver, Canada on 95 critically ill COVID-19 patients in a hospital found that—after adjusting for sex, age, and comorbidities—patients with blood types A or AB were more likely to require mechanical ventilation than patients with types O or B (84% vs 61%, P = 0.02), indicating higher rates of lung damage.

Patients with blood types A and AB also had higher rates of dialysis for kidney failure, suggesting increased organ dysfunction or failure due to COVID-19 (32% vs 95%, P = 0.004). Patients with blood types A and AB did not have longer hospital stays than those with types O or B, but they did experience longer intensive care unit stays, which may signal greater COVID-19 severity.

ALSO READ:  Scientists identify the specific gene that protects against severe COVID-19

A study in June looking at patients in Italy and Spain found that blood type O had a 50 percent reduced risk of severe coronavirus infection (i.e. needing intubation or supplemental oxygen) compared to patients with other blood types. A study published in July looking at patients in five major hospitals in the state of Massachusetts found that people with blood type O were less likely to test positive for COVID-19 than those with other blood types. Another study in April (pre-print and awaiting peer-review) found that among 1,559 coronavirus patients in New York City, a lower proportion than would be expected had Type O blood. Earlier in March, a study of over 2,100 coronavirus patients in Wuhan and Shenzhen (also not peer-reviewed) found that people with Type O blood had a lower risk of infection.

Past research analyzing a hospital outbreak in Hong Kong suggested that people with Type O blood were less susceptible to (the original, not the pandemic) SARS, which shares ~80 percent of its genetic code with the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. A 2005 Clinical Microbiology Review also found that most individuals infected with SARS had non-O blood types. 

It’s important to emphasize that the type of reduction in risk achieved with appropriate physical distancing, wearing a mask, and hand hygiene are significantly better than depending on your blood group for protection, so people with blood type O should not be complacent about public health advice.

Tags: bloodblood typecoronavirusCOVID-19SARS

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