A retrospective study of the proportional distribution of ABO blood types in SARS-CoV-2 patients in Jodhpur (western India)

Abstract

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected millions of people globally. Many recent studies have suggested that the ABO blood type may contribute to COVID-19 infection immunopathogenesis. We aimed to determine the proportional distribution of COVID-19 infection among ABO blood types. Methodology: This retrospective research was conducted in the city of Jodhpur (Rajasthan), India. The research involved 1140 COVID-19 patients, whose medical records were available in blood banks. The data was evaluated statistically using IBM SPSS 26. Results: The proportion of blood group B among infected patients was highest (37.36%). Among all the cases, blood group A had the highest odds ratio of 1.062 (CI 95%, 0.92-1.21, p = 0.412). All versus one blood group analysis also showed that blood group A (odds ratio = 1.062 [CI 95%, 0.92-1.22] p = 0.412) was more likely to be infected with COVID-19 than the remaining blood groups. In the year 2021, blood group B had the highest risk of COVID-19 infection (odds ratio = 1.138). Conclusions: Based on our findings, the blood groups A and B are more likely to be infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The overall average age for COVID-19 infection was lower, and the number of incidences in female patients was higher in 2021, relative to 2020. We found no evident relationship between COVID-19 vulnerabilities and blood group. A summary of the research is presented in Supplementary Figure 1.