A new study, conducted in Canada, has once again examined the relationship between blood groups and greater or lesser strength of Covid-19. Also in this case the results show how the blood group can make a difference in the contagion and in the severity of the disease once contracted.
A large study involving 225,556 people by a team ofInstitute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences of Toronto, adds evidence to what has already been hypothesized by previous research: people with type O or Rh negative blood they are less at risk of contracting Covid-19 or in any case tend to contract it in a milder form.
The scientists’ goal was to determine whether ABO blood groups and Rh factor could be associated with a higher (or lower) risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 infection and developing severe disease.
To understand this, the study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, compared the data relating to a sample of people who between 2007 and 2019 had undergone blood tests to determine their group and who then, during this year, had performed the coronavirus swab.
According to the results obtained, those in group 0 have a 12% less chance of contracting the coronavirus, percentage rising to 21% if you have the negative Rh. In addition, the risk of severe Covid-19 or death was 13% lower than in people in groups A, AB or B.
1,328 of the more than 200,000 people tested were diagnosed with severe Covid-19 or had died. The odds were higher between blood groups AB and B and with Rh-positive.
Those with blood type 0 may have developed antibodies that can recognize aspects of the new virus, she told Reuters Joel Ray of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, co-author of the study:
“Our next study will specifically examine these antibodies and whether they can explain the protective effect”
The researchers are also keen to specify that:
“While we saw a statistically significant association between blood type and serious illness or death, it was also assumed that we had correctly identified a serious illness associated with Covid-19. Our composite result did not include venous thromboembolism, which is a well-described complication of Covid-19. It is also interesting that the phenotype and genotype of blood group O is associated with a reduced risk of venous thromboembolism, probably because members of group O have lower plasma levels ”.
It also remains to be determined whether this information may in any way influence the prevention or treatment strategies of Covid-19.
Sources: CTV news / Reuters/ Annals of Internal Medicine
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The article incorporates published studies and recommendations from international institutions and / or experts. We make no claims in the medical-scientific field and we report the facts as they are. The sources are indicated at the end of each article
