The association between ABO blood group and SARS-CoV-2 infection: A meta-analysis

  1. Davide Golinelli
  2. Erik Boetto
  3. Elisa Maietti
  4. Maria Pia Fantini

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Abstract

No abstract available

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  1. Version published to 10.1371/journal.pone.0239508
  2. Version published to 10.1101/2020.07.17.20155986v2 on medRxiv
  3. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.07.17.20155986: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Experimental Models: Organisms/Strains
    SentencesResources
    Primary outcome measures were Odds Ratios (ORs) for the association of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 (infection confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction, PCR) and having a specific blood group (A, B, AB, or O).
    AB
    suggested: RRID:BDSC_203)
    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    To maintain the quality of the data as high as possible, we decided to include only articles indexed on MEDLINE and LitCovid.
    MEDLINE
    suggested: (MEDLINE, RRID:SCR_002185)
    Data collection forms (Excel spreadsheet [Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA]) were used by both reviewers to extract the required data from eligible studies.
    Excel
    suggested: None
    All statistical analyses were performed using Stata version 16 (StataCorp, 2019. Stata Statistical Software: Release 16.
    StataCorp
    suggested: (Stata, RRID:SCR_012763)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    This study has some limitations. First, we relied on the evidence and data available in the scientific literature to date, which are still preliminary. This is mainly due to the effect of the pandemic on research and publishing timing. This also influences the intrinsic quality of the studies included in the meta-analysis, which present a great variability in terms of study design and population considered. Second, we found it difficult to obtain a uniform adjustment for confounders. Third, the considerable size of the pooled control population that we reported is mainly due to data from a single study.21 Nevertheless, the size can still be deemed adequate for each study, when considered by itself. Lastly, both cases and controls populations may be deemed not adequately representative of the general population (e.g. most of included cases are hospitalized patients). This article represents, to our knowledge, the first meta-analysis to investigate the epidemiological association of ABO blood group polymorphism with SARS-CoV-2 infection. This meta-analysis provides additional evidence of the susceptibility of blood group A individuals to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the possible protective effect of blood group O. Given the theoretical level of the underlying hypotheses, further methodologically sound studies are needed to investigate the molecular and clinical mechanism at the basis of the association between ABO polymorphism and individual susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  4. Version published to 10.1101/2020.07.17.20155986v1 on medRxiv