Relationship between Blood Group (ABO) and Risk of COVID-19 Infection in a Patient Cohort in Tehran, Iran

Background and purpose: Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a contagious disease causing severe acute respiratory syndrome which had a catastrophic effect on the world population and resulted in more than 2.9 million deaths worldwide. Epidemiological investigations have recently announced blood type has an association with the incidence of COVID-19 infection. Consequently, research in this regard can be effective in determining a person's susceptibility to a viral infection. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between blood types and the risk of COVID-19 in patients admitted to Khorshid laboratory, Tehran, Iran. Materials and methods: From January to March 2020, 50 nasal and throat swap samples of patients’ secretions were obtained from patients who were admitted to Khorshid laboratory. They were confirmed to have COVID-19 virus RNA and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-ABI, and their blood type was determined simultaneously. After collecting data to determine the relationship between COVID-19 infection and blood type, a confidence interval of 90% was considered using SPSS 16. Results: The mean age of the patients was measured at 38.4±6.3 years. According to PCR results, 100% of the subjects with COVID-19 showed blood type A. In addition, the ratio of blood type A to the percentage of reference type O was higher (P=0.009). Conclusion: There was a significant relationship between ABO blood type and susceptibility to COVID-19. As the current study suggests, those with blood type A are at a higher COVID-19 infection risk than those with blood type O.