Download PDF
CC BY 4.0 · Glob Med Genet 2023; 10(01): 22-26
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1761202
Original Article

Sex and ABO Blood Differences in SARS-CoV-2 Infection Susceptibility

Mahmut Cerkez Ergoren 
1   Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus
,
Gokce Akan
2   DESAM Research Institute, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus
,
Emrah Guler
2   DESAM Research Institute, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus
3   Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus
,
Gulten Tuncel
2   DESAM Research Institute, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus
,
Damla Akovalı
4   Blood Bank Unite, Near East University Hospital, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus
,
Emine Unal Evren
5   Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kyrenia, Kyrenia, Cyprus
,
Hakan Evren
5   Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kyrenia, Kyrenia, Cyprus
,
Huseyin Kaya Suer
6   Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus
,
Tamer Sanlidag
2   DESAM Research Institute, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
› Further Information
Also available at
   Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Data consisting of millions of cases cannot still explain the immunopathogenesis mechanism between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and host cell for ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemics. Epidemiological studies among different populations suggested different impacts of ABO and Rh antibodies on the COVID-19 susceptibility. Thus, the ABO blood group and the SARS-CoV-2 infection paradox remain unclear. Therefore, the present retrospective case–control study aimed to investigate the possible association between ABO blood groups and Rh blood types on SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Turkish Cypriot population. A total of 18,639 Turkish Cypriot subjects (297 SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 patients and 18,342 healthy) were included in this study. Personal and clinical characteristics including age, gender, SARS-CoV-2 infection status, the ABO blood group and Rh blood types were evaluated and compared between two groups. As a result, ABO blood group was shown to be associated with a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as with male sex (p = 0.018). There was no association between Rh blood type and COVID-19. Overall, this study is the first largest sample group study to show the distribution of ABO blood group and Rh blood types in the healthy Turkish Cypriot population. Based on the current evidence, there are insufficient data to guide public health policies regarding COVID-19 pathogenesis.

Keywords

ABO blood group - Rh blood type - SARS-CoV-2 - COVID-19 - Turkish Cypriot


Publication History

Article published online:
30 January 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Stuttgart · New York

 

  • References

  • 1 Grant MC, Geoghegan L, Arbyn M. et al. The prevalence of symptoms in 24,410 adults infected by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19): a systematic review and meta-analysis of 148 studies from 9 countries. PLoS One 2020; 15 (06) e0234765
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 2 Ellinghaus D, Degenhardt F, Bujanda L. et al; Severe Covid-19 GWAS Group. Genomewide association study of severe Covid-19 with respiratory failure. N Engl J Med 2020; 383 (16) 1522-1534
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 3 Benetti E, Tita R, Spiga O. et al; GEN-COVID Multicenter Study. ACE2 gene variants may underlie interindividual variability and susceptibility to COVID-19 in the Italian population. Eur J Hum Genet 2020; 28 (11) 1602-1614
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 4 Novelli A, Biancolella M, Borgiani P. et al. Analysis of ACE2 genetic variants in 131 Italian SARS-CoV-2-positive patients. Hum Genomics 2020; 14 (01) 29
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 5 Iyer GR, Samajder S, Zubeda S. et al. Infectivity and progression of COVID-19 based on selected host candidate gene variants. Front Genet 2020; 11: 861
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 6 Hoffmann M, Kleine-Weber H, Schroeder S. et al. SARS-CoV-2 cell entry depends on ACE2 and TMPRSS2 and is blocked by a clinically proven protease inhibitor. Cell 2020; 181 (02) 271-280.e8
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 7 Paniri A, Hosseini MM, Akhavan-Niaki H. First comprehensive computational analysis of functional consequences of TMPRSS2 SNPs in susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 among different populations. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2021; 39 (10) 3576-3593
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Butler-Laporte G, Nakanishi T, Mooser V. et al. Vitamin D levels and COVID-19 susceptibility: is there any correlation?. PLoS Med 2021; 18 (06) e1003605
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 9 Razdan K, Singh K, Singh D. Levels and COVID-19 susceptibility: is there any correlation?. Med Drug Discov 2020; 7: 100051
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 10 Butler MJ, Barrientos RM. The impact of nutrition on COVID-19 susceptibility and long-term consequences. Brain Behav Immun 2020; 87: 53-54
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 11 Huang C, Wang Y, Li X. et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet 2020; 395 (10223): 497-506
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 12 Cooling L. Blood groups in infection and host susceptibility. Clin Microbiol Rev 2015; 28 (03) 801-870
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 13 Cheng Y, Cheng G, Chui CH. et al. ABO blood group and susceptibility to severe acute respiratory syndrome. JAMA 2005; 293 (12) 1450-1451
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 14 Guillon P, Clément M, Sébille V. et al. Inhibition of the interaction between the SARS-CoV spike protein and its cellular receptor by anti-histo-blood group antibodies. Glycobiology 2008; 18 (12) 1085-1093
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 15 Fan Q, Zhang W, Li B, Li DJ, Zhang J, Zhao F. Association between ABO blood group system and COVID-19 susceptibility in Wuhan. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020; 10: 404
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 16 Li J, Wang X, Chen J, Cai Y, Deng A, Yang M. Association between ABO blood groups and risk of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. Br J Haematol 2020; 190 (01) 24-27
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 17 WHO. COVID-19 Dashboard. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2020. (Accessed date: 16 May 2022). Available at: https://covid19.who.int/
  • 18 Gündüz M, Temel H. The relationship between the distribution of ABO and Rh blood groups and the clinical course in children with COVID-19. ADYÜ Sağlık Bilimleri Derg 2021; 7 (01) 32-37
    Google Scholar
  • 19 Behera B, Rout B, Panigrahy R. et al. ABO blood grouping and COVID-19: a hospital-based study in Eastern India. Egyptian J Med Human Genetics 2022; 23 (07) 1-6 DOI: 10.1186/s43042-022-00225-9.
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 20 Rana R, Ranjan V, Kumar N. Association of ABO and Rh blood group in susceptibility, severity, and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019: a hospital-based study from Delhi, India. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021; 11: 767771
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 21 Kerbage A, Haddad SF, Nasr L. et al. Impact of ABO and Rhesus blood groups on COVID-19 susceptibility and severity: a case-control study. J Med Virol 2022; 94 (03) 1162-1166
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 22 Solmaz İ, Araç S. ABO blood groups in COVID-19 patients; cross-sectional study. Int J Clin Pract 2021; 75 (04) e13927
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 23 Dal MS, Ata N, Altuntaş F. et al. COVID-19 clinical course and blood groups: Turkish population-based study. Turk J Med Sci 2021; 51 (04) 1659-1664
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 24 Latz CA, DeCarlo C, Boitano L. et al. Blood type and outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Ann Hematol 2020; 99 (09) 2113-2118
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 25 Liu N, Zhang T, Ma L. et al. The impact of ABO blood group on COVID-19 infection risk and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Blood Rev 2021; 48: 100785
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 26 Vahidy FS, Pan AP, Ahnstedt H. et al. Sex differences in susceptibility, severity, and outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019: cross-sectional analysis from a diverse US metropolitan area. PLoS One 2021; 16 (01) e0245556
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 27 He W, Liu X, Feng L. et al. Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on male reproductive health: a review of the literature on male reproductive involvement in COVID-19. Front Med (Lausanne) 2020; 7: 594364
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 28 Jin JM, Bai P, He W. et al. Gender differences in patients with COVID-19: focus on severity and mortality. Front Public Health 2020; 8: 152
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 29 Goel R, Bloch EM, Pirenne F. et al; ISBT COVID-19 Working Group. ABO blood group and COVID-19: a review on behalf of the ISBT COVID-19 Working Group. Vox Sang 2021; 116 (08) 849-861
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar