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Does our blood type determine if we're susceptible to COVID-19 or not?
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Genetic analysis of COVID-19 patients suggests that blood type
may play a role in the severity of the disease within certain individuals.
Many patients who become infected with COVID-19,
only experience mild to no symptoms at all, classifying as being asymptomatic.
However, other patients can develop respiratory
failure that requires the utilization of a ventilator to help them recover.
It is clear through studies and analysis that COVID-19 happens more often in men than in women,
as well as in older people and those people who have chronic medical conditions.
But why does respiratory failure also sometimes occur in people
who are young and seemingly healthy?
A new study published by The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that part of
the answer to this question may be found in the genes that each one of us carries.
Does our blood type determine if we’re susceptible to COVID-19 or not?
Research suggests that patients with blood type A had a 45% higher risk of contracting coronavirus
and experiencing respiratory failure, compared to patients with other blood types.
On the other hand, people with type O blood had 35%
lower risk for this more severe form of COVID-19.
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I’m a board-certified emergency medicine physician and on my show,
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Although more research is needed to determine the exact genes and mechanisms responsible,
a recent genome-wide association study (GWAS),
found that gene variants in two regions of the human genome are associated with
severe COVID-19 and correspondingly carry a greater risk of COVID-19-related death.
Blood type breakdown:
There are four main blood types: A, B, AB, and O,
with two variants of each relating to Rh-positive and Rh-negative.
Blood types are differentiated by proteins on the surface of red blood cells.
People with Type O blood are better able to recognize certain proteins as foreign,
and that may extend to proteins on viral surfaces.
Why are researchers looking at the relationship between COVID-19 and blood types?
During the 2002 SARS outbreak, which was caused by a genetic cousin of the coronavirus,
it was discovered by researchers then that individuals with Type
O blood were less likely to get the severe disease.
Blood type also has been tied to susceptibility to some other infectious diseases such as cholera,
recurrent urinary tract infections from E. coli,
and a bug called H. pylori that can cause ulcers and stomach cancer.
Researchers found evidence suggesting a genetic variant
associated with increased levels of interleukin-6 in blood types.
This plays a critical role in inflammation and may have implications for COVID-19 as well.
Possible DNA strengths at risk:
Besides the findings on blood type, researchers also found that certain
gene clusters were tied to higher chances of developing severe COVID-19.
It was reported that one gene cluster raised the risk by 77%.
The two stretches of DNA that were identified as risks for severe COVID-19
are known to carry some intriguing genes,
including one that determines blood type
and others that play various roles in the immune system.
Research does not quite confirm a blood type connection,
but it does confirm a previous report from China of such a link.
So what did these studies actually find?
These new findings—the first to identify statistically significant susceptibility genes
for the severity of COVID-19—come from a large research effort by Andre Franke,
a scientist out of Germany, along with Tom Karlsen out of Norway.
Their study included 1,980 people undergoing treatment for severe COVID-19
and respiratory failure at seven medical centers in Italy and Spain.
Researchers identified two places that turned up significantly more often in individuals
with severe COVID-19 than in the healthy folks.
One of them is found on chromosome 3 and covers a cluster of six
genes with potentially relevant functions.
For example, this portion of the genome encodes a transporter protein
known to interact with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2,
the surface receptor that allows the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19,
to bind to and infect human cells.
It also encodes a collection of chemokine receptors,
which play a role in the immune response in the airways of our lungs.
Okay, that was a lot of medical terminology right there.
But what this study means for us is it could offer up new leads in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine.
The hope is that these and other findings yet to come will point the way to a more
thorough understanding of the biology of COVID-19.
They also suggest that a genetic test and a person’s blood type might provide useful
tools for identifying those who may be at greater risk for the severe illness.
All right, that's been a five-minute coronavirus conversation with me, Doctor Wagner.
Let me know in the comments if you have any other medical questions that you’d like me to answer.
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Thank you so much for watching, and until next time, stay healthy my friends.