Does ABO Blood Groups Affect Outcomes in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients?

Abstract

Background Blood group type A has been associated with increased susceptibility for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection when compared to group O. The aim of our study was to examine outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients among blood groups A and O. Methods This is an observational study. Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-square tests were used to compare continuous and categorical variables. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine association of blood groups with rates of mortality and severity of disease. All adult patients (> 18 years) admitted with COVID-19 infection between March 1, 2020 and March 10, 2021 at a large community hospital in Northeast Georgia were included. We compared mortality, severity of disease (use of mechanical ventilation, vasopressor, and acute renal failure), rates of venous thromboembolism and inflammatory markers between the blood groups. We used multivariable logistic regression model to adjust for demographical and clinical characteristics, use of COVID-19 medications and severity. Results A total of 3,563 of 5,204 admitted patients had information on blood groups. Of these, 1,301 (36.5%) were group A, 377 (10.6 %) were group B, 133 (3.7%) were group AB and 1,752 (49.2%) were group O. On adjusted analysis, there were no significant differences in rates of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, acute renal failure, venous thromboembolism and readmission rate between the blood groups A and O. In-hospital mortality was also not statistically different among the blood groups A and O (17.5% vs. 20.1%; P = 0.07). On adjusted analysis, in-hospital mortality was not lower in blood groups O (odds ratio (OR): 1.06; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.80 - 1.40, P = 0.70). Conclusions Once hospitalized with COVID-19 infection, blood groups A and O are not associated with increased severity or in-hospital mortality.

Risk factors associated with hypercoagulability in Covid-19 patients at Ndola Teaching Hospital and Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital, Zambia

“…Univariate analysis revealed that ABO Blood Group was not a risk factor for hypercoagulability in COVID-19 patients. These findings are consistent with some previous studies (Kumar et al, 2021;Rao et al, 2021) and contradict others (Marcos et al, 2020). The association between ABO blood group and thrombosis risk has been confirmed by many studies.…”

ABO Blood Groups and the Incidence of Complications in COVID-19 Patients: A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study

“…Most ABO studies have been focused on the incidence and severity of COVID-19 [ 17 ], and few studies on symptoms and complications post-COVID-19. Some studies found that the O group offered protection against COVID-19 infection, whereas A-group subjects experienced a higher risk of adverse outcomes [ 12 , 13 , 39 , 40 ], with more cardiovascular complications in the A-group subjects [ 41 ], whereas subjects in the B group experienced more severe illnesses and higher fatality rates [ 11 , 15 , 22 , 41 , 42 ], but no ABO blood group differences in mortality were found in other studies [ 43 , 44 , 45 ].…”

Susceptibility of ABO blood group to COVID-19 infections: clinico-hematological, radiological, and complications analysis

“…The multicenter retrospective research of Hoiland et al aimed at investigating if ABO blood types are linked to various severities of COVID-19 among ICU admitted patients and found that [31] There were no significant variations in rates of ICU admissions, MV, vasopressors, acute renal failure, venous thromboembolism, and readmission rate between blood types A and O, according to Kumar et al [32] Non-O classes had a slightly higher infection prevalence, according to Zietz et al When compared to type O, the risk of intubation was lower for type A and higher for types of AB and B. In contrast, the mortality risk was higher for type AB and lower for types A and B.…”