The Impact of ABO Blood Grouping on COVID-19 Vulnerability and Seriousness: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Controlled Study among the Arab Community

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 18; no. 1; p. 276
• Main Authors: El-Shitany, Nagla A., El-Hamamsy, Manal, Alahmadi, Ahlam A., Eid, Basma G., Neamatallah, Thikryat, Almukadi, Haifa S., Arab, Rana A., Faddladdeen, Khadija A., Al-Sulami, Khayria A., Bahshwan, Safia M., Ali, Soad S., Harakeh, Steve, Badr-Eldin, Shaimaa M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.01.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Age groups; Arabs; Blood Grouping and Crossmatching; Blood groups; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - blood; COVID-19 - ethnology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disease Susceptibility - blood; Disease transmission; Fever; Gender; Glycoproteins; Humans; Infections; Medical research; Morphology; Oxygen - blood; Oxygen saturation; Pandemics; Questionnaires; Retrospective Studies; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Social networks; Statistical analysis; Surveys and Questionnaires; Viral infections; Viruses; Saudi Arabia; COVID-19; blood group; artificial respiration; oxygen saturation; myalgia
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18010276

Background and Objectives: Studies have noted that some ABO blood types are more susceptible to COVID-19 virus infection. This study aimed to further confirm the relationship between different blood groups on the vulnerability, symptoms, cure period, and severity among COVID-19 recovered patients. Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional study approached the participants from the Arab community via social media (mainly Facebook and WhatsApp). The data were collected through two Google Form questionnaires, one for COVID-19 recovered patients (COVID-19 group, n = 726), and the other for the healthy people (Control group, n = 707). Results: The subjects with blood group O were the least likely to be infected with the COVID-19 virus, while those with blood group A were not likely to be the most susceptible. There were significant differences among different ABO blood groups regarding the distribution of oxygen saturation percentage, myalgia, and recovery time after COVID-19 infection (p < 0.01, 0.01, and 0.05, respectively). The blood group A showed the highest percentage of patients who experienced an oxygen saturation range of 90–100%, whereas the blood group O showed the highest percentage of patients who experienced an oxygen saturation range of 70–80%. The blood group A showed the lowest percentage of patients who required artificial respiration, whereas the blood group O showed the highest percentage of patients who required artificial respiration. The blood group B showed the lowest percentage of patients who experienced myalgia and exhibited the lowest percentage of patients who needed 3 weeks or more to recover. Conclusion: The people of blood group O may be the least likely to be infected with COVID-19, however, they may be the more in need of treatment in hospital and artificial respiration compared to the other blood groups.