ABO Blood System Associated with Susceptibility, and Rhesus (Rh) Status Associated with Disease Severity in COVID-19 Patients, (Southeast of Iran)

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Background: The ABO/Rh blood groups were related to susceptibility to numerous infectious and non-infectious diseases.Here, the association of ABO/Rh groups with susceptibility to COVID-19 and disease severity was investigated in a population from southeast Iran. Material and Methods:In this descriptive study, information regarding the clinical characteristics and ABO/Rh blood groups was collected from 524 patients with COVID-19 from March to October, 2020.The data of blood groups from patients were compared with those from 7365 healthy individuals during the same period.Data was analyzed using SPSS.Results: No significant differences were found between COVID-19 patients and the healthy group regarding the proportions of A, B, and O blood groups.However, the proportion of the AB blood group was significantly higher in COVID-19 patients than that in healthy people (11.8% versus 8.2%, P <0.004).When the A group was considered as a reference, the AB blood group was associated to a greater risk of COVID-19 [OR: 1.45 (1.06-1.98),P<0.02].No association was found between ABO blood groups and COVID-19 severity.The proportion of the Rh-positive blood group was slightly higher in COVID-19 patients than in the other group.The proportion of Rh-negative patients was greater in severe COVID-19 than in mild and moderate forms (P<0.001).In A, AB, and O blood groups, the proportions of Rh-negative patients were greater in severe COVID-19 than those with mild and moderate disease (P=0.05,P<0.05, and P<0.001, respectively).Conclusion: The AB blood group was associated with greater susceptibility to COVID-19, while Rh-negative status was positively associated with disease severity.