Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, numerous studies have been carried out to identify the possible links between the coronavirus disease and the blood type of an infected patient. In new research, experts validated that the initial findings were substantial.
The latest data confirms the theory that the severity of the viral illness is associated with blood proteins and may drive the likelihood of an increased risk of hospitalization and death from the coronavirus.
Coronavirus Infection and Blood Type
Earliest observations that were conducted over the information from Wuhan in 2020 presented that a person's blood type dictates the severity of the SARS-CoV-2 disease. In this previous paper, experts noted that people with type A blood are more likely to be hospitalized and prone to death than patients with type O blood.
The latest study on coronavirus severity shows the most comprehensive finding over the subject of association between COVID-19 severity and the blood type of people. The authors of the new paper utilized the approach known as Mendelian randomization as part of their analysis to investigate the correlation of the viral disease outcome and the gene variants responsible for the modification of proteins regulating the blood type.
Karolinska Institutet's Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery expert Vincent Millischer, who co-authored the study, explained that their examination involved groups categorized based on the blood protein levels' genetic propensity.
Through this method, the evaluation of casual direction gathered between high blood protein levels and the severity of the coronavirus can be collected without the intrusion of external factors, Millischer continued.
The screening of the study's samples was made possible through the help of 3,000 blood proteins, with the actuation of hospitalization and death being the spectrum of COVID-19 severity.
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Severity of COVID-19 Linked with Genetics; Blood A Type Prone to Higher Risk
Among the main aspects that were thoroughly analyzed was the association of the disease severity with an enzyme that drives an individual's blood type called ABO.
King's College London's genetic expert and co-author of the study Christopher Hubel said their new study did not cross-examine the particular blood types with the severity of the infection. On the other hand, the ABO findings from this research support the previous observations in which the higher COVID-19 risk is associated with type A blood.
The enzymes identified from the investigation allowed the authors to specify a person's blood group, which is associated with the risk of hospitalization, administration of respiratory support, and death.
The study did not specify which blood groups are more likely to have a risk of severe coronavirus infection, but the results collected from the prior observational research suggest that the patients with blood A type should be included in further studies.
Additional research is also needed to identify the blood proteins that ease the severity of late-stage COVID-19 cases to single out possible therapies and treatments in the future. The study was published in the journal PLOS Genetics, titled "Proteome-wide Mendelian randomization identifies causal links between blood proteins and severe COVID-19."
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