Correlation of Age, Gender, ABO Blood Group and Rh Factor in COVID-19 Infection: A Cross-Sectional Study in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

Abstract

Background: The ABO blood group has long been recognized as a significant factor influencing susceptibility to infectious diseases. Numerous studies have explored the links between ABO blood types and both the likelihood of contracting COVID-19 and the severity of the infection, yielding conflicting results. Aim: This study intends to determine the influence of age, gender, the ABO blood group, and Rh factor on the potential development of COVID-19 infection. Methodology: A cross-sectional, observational study collected data including age, gender, the ABO blood group, and Rh factor from 80 healthcare professionals at R. R. Dental College and Hospital in Udaipur with a positive history of COVID-19 infection via Google Forms (Google LLC, Mountain View, California, United States). Chi-square statistics assessed the distribution of blood types and antibodies within the samples. Odds ratio (OR) assays were used to assess the probability of a certain blood type or Rh factor with version 21.0 of the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). Results: In this study, the blood group type O was 45.2% (n = 33), type A was 21.9% (n = 16), type B was 24.7% (n = 18), and type AB was 8.2% (n = 6). Rh-positive samples were 87.7% (n = 64) and Rh-negative samples were 12.3% (n = 9). There was a statistically significant correlation between Type A (p = 0.001) and Type O (p = 0.049). Thirty-one participants (42.5%) were aged 20-30 years, 26 (35.6%) were aged 31-40 years, and 16 (21.9%) were aged 41-50 years. The statistical analysis revealed no statistically significant distinction among the age groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The patients' gender, age, and concurrent disorders are crucial risk variables that determine the severity of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. There is growing data indicating that the ABO blood group has a significant role in disease biology at physiological and biochemical levels. Hence, this study adds valuable information to strengthen and establish the potential role of factors, such as age and gender, in the possible pathogenicity of COVID-19 infection.