Relationship of Blood Group Type and SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Experience in A Peripheral Military Hospital

Introduction: Clinical studies have shown that advanced age and chronic diseases increase the risk of infection Different studies have found blood groups are also a determining factor of severity However, in Bangladesh it is yet to have any clinical pattern in this respect The aim of this study is to find out whether there exists a relationship between the blood groups of the patients and risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection Methods: The study is a retrospective cohort study It included all hospitalized RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 patients in Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Barishal We included both genders and people who are older than 14 years of age The study was conducted during the period between 4th June and 3rd August, 2020 In this period total 556 individuals reported and tested for SARS-CoV-2 where COVID +ve patients are served as patient group and COVID -ve patients are served as the controls Results: Our sample consists of 185 patients;we found a percentage distribution of 34 6%, 39 5%, 5 4%, and 20 54% for blood groups A, B, AB and O, respectively Blood group A was statistically significantly more frequent among those infected with COVID-19 compared to controls (34 6% vs 21 83%, p-value 0 045 (<0 05);OR: 1 894) On the other hand, the frequency of blood group O was significantly lower in the COVID-19 patients, compared to the control group (20 54% vs 32 88%, p-value0 049 (<0 05);OR: 0 528) Although there was a higher percentage distribution of the B blood group among COVID-19 patients as compared to the control groups, this difference did not reach statistical significance Also, there was no significant difference in the risk of COVID-19 in blood group AB with a distribution of 6 2% in control group, and5 4% in COVID-19 patients Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that the blood group A might have a role in increased susceptibility to the COVID-19 infection and the blood group O might be somewhat protective [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Bangladesh College of Physicians & Surgeons is the property of Bangladesh College of Physicians & Surgeons and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )