Are blood groups related to the distribution and severity of COVID-19 ? : a cross-sectional study in a tertiary care hospital in South India

Abstract EN

Background: Blood groups are inherited traits that affect the susceptibility/severity of a disease.

A clear relationship between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and ABO blood groups is yet to be established in the Indian population.

This study aimed to demonstrate an association of the distribution and severity of COVID-19 with ABO blood groups.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted after obtaining ethics approval (IEC 207/20) among hospitalized patients using in-patient records and analyzed on SPSS-25.

Chi-square tests were used for the analysis of categorical data and independent sample t-test/Mann–Whitney U tests were used for continuous data.

Results: The B blood group had the highest prevalence among COVID-19-positive patients.

The AB blood group was significantly associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) ( p ¼0.03), sepsis ( p ¼0.02), and septic shock ( p ¼0.02).

The O blood group was associated with significantly lower rates of lymphopenia and leucocytosis.

However, no significant clinical association was seen in the O blood group.

Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that blood groups have a similar distribution among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the South Indian population.

Additionally, it preludes to a possible association between the AB blood group and ARDS, sepsis, and septic shock.

Further studies having a larger representation of AB blood groups, especially in patients hospitalized for critical COVID-19, with adjustment for possible covariates, are warranted to provide a reliable estimate of the risk in the South Indian population.