ABO(H) blood groups and vascular disease: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

To cite this article: Wu O, Bayoumi N, Vickers MA, Clark P. ABO(H) blood groups and vascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. 2008; 6: 62-9. Summary. Background: Associations between vascular disease and ABO(H) blood groups have a long history, but no consensus exists regarding its magnitude and significance, or whether it relates to all disorders equally. An accurate calculation of risk would allow direct assessment of whether the effects of non-O status on thrombosis risk are of the magnitude predicted by its effect on von Willebrand factor/ FVIII levels. Methods and results: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting associations with non-O blood groups. This gave pooled odds ratios of 1.25 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-1.36] for myocardial infarction (MI), 1.03 (95% CI 0.89-1.19) for angina, 1.45 (95% CI 1.35-1.56) for peripheral vascular disease, 1.14 (95% CI 1.01-1.27) for cerebral ischemia of arterial origin, and 1.79 (95% CI 1.56 to 2.05) for venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, restriction to prospective MI studies only did not confirm the association (OR 1.01; 95% CI 0.84-1.23), although these studies may have failed to capture early-onset disease. For VTE, using a combined group of OO/A 2 A 2 /A 2 O as index, the combination of A 1 A 1 /A 1 B/BB gave an OR of 2.44 (95% CI 1.79-3.33) and A 1 O/ BO/A 2 B an OR of 2.11 (95% CI 1.66-2.68). Conclusions: This study confirms the historical impression of linkage between some vascular disorders and non-O blood group status. Although the odds ratios are similar to those predicted by the effect of ABO(H) on von Willebrand factor levels, further work is required to assess risk prospectively and to refine the effect of reducing O(H) antigen expression on thrombosis. However, as non-O and particularly A 1 A 1 , A 1 B, BB constitute a significant proportion of the population attributable fraction of VTE, there may be a role for more widespread adoption of ABO(H) typing in testing strategies. J Thromb Haemost

A genome-wide association study identifies new loci for ACE activity: potential implications for response to ACE inhibitor

“…23 Of particular interest is the association of O histo-blood groups with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction, peripheral vascular disease, stroke and venous thromboembolism. 24 These findings are only partially explained by the lower levels of factor VIIIc and Willebrand factor in the O blood types as compared with other blood types. 25 The exact mechanism is not entirely understood.…”

‘O’ blood type is associated with larger grey-matter volumes in the cerebellum

“…On this note, the influence of ABO-system blood types on the nervous system has been a largely unexplored research area. Despite the association which has been frequently reported between 'O' and non-'O' blood types and cardiovascular risk factors (Carpeggiani et al, 2010;Wu et al, 2008;Yang et al, 2014), recent findings suggest that other, non-vasculogenic mechanisms might exist, such as, for instance, the involvement of glycosyltransferase enzymes encoded by the ABO genetic locus (Alexander et al, 2014). In a retrospective and explorative fashion, we carried out a voxel-based morphometric analysis of the differences of whole-brain GM volumes between a subgroup of healthy adults with 'O' blood type and comparable subgroups having other blood types.…”

“…Consistently with higher plasma levels of a clotting-inducing factor, non-'O' adults carry a larger number of cardiovascular risk factors (Carpeggiani et al, 2010). Based on this evidence, many studies have investigated the association between blood type and the occurrence of vascular events affecting the brain (Wu et al, 2008).…”

Genetic Regulation of Serum Phytosterol Levels and Risk of Coronary Artery Disease

“…34 Association between non-O blood group carriership with myocardial infarction recently has been confirmed in a metaanalysis of predominantly retrospective studies comprising 8220 cases and 509 009 controls. 35 Historically, ABO has been one of the first-available genetically determined markers, and there are numerous reports of associations with various phenotypes. Some of these studies had small sample sizes and showed only modest statistical significance, adding to skepticism about these findings.…”