Background Novel SARS‐CoV‐2 (COVID‐19) virus has rapidly spread worldwide and was declared a pandemic, making identifying and prioritizing individuals most at risk a critical challenge. The literature describes an association between blood groups and the susceptibility to various viral infections and their severity. Knowing if a specific blood group has more susceptibility to COVID‐19 may help improve understanding the pathogenesis and severity of the disease. We aimed to assess the association between ABO/RhD and COVID‐19 susceptibility and severity, and to compare results with similar studies in Saudi Arabia. Study Design and Methods This study was conducted between March and October 2021 on 600 patients confirmed positive for COVID‐19 infection. Patients' data were collected and analyzed. As a control, 8423 healthy blood donors were enrolled as a sample representative of the population for blood group distribution. Results More individuals had blood group B in the COVID‐19 group in comparison with the control group (24.2% vs. 18%), The opposite was observed among individuals of group O (39.5% vs. 47.3%). The B blood group was predictive of higher risk of mortality. No significant difference in the distribution of RhD was observed between the COVID‐19 and the control groups. Neither ABO nor RhD was significantly associated with the severity of COVID‐19. Discussion Although there was no significant association with the disease severity, the B blood group may be associated with a higher risk for COVID‐19 infection. Further studies with a larger sample size are necessary to evaluate this correlation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.