Blood type and risk for COVID-19

A genome-wide association study in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that patients with blood type A are at increased risk for COVID-19-induced respiratory failure than other blood groups. Researchers compared the genomes of roughly 1600 people with severe COVID-19 in Italy and Spain with over 2200 uninfected population-based controls. Two chromosomal loci were associated with COVID-19-induced respiratory failure. One of these is also the ABO blood group locus. Blood group A was associated with a 45% increased risk for COVID-19 respiratory failure, while blood group O was associated with a 35% lower risk, relative to other blood groups. The other affected locus covered genes that have functions that could be relevant to severe COVID-19, such as interacting with the SARS-CoV-2 cell-surface receptor.

Blood type and genetics studyin NEJM