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Review
. 2023 Oct-Dec;45(4):483-494.
doi: 10.1016/j.htct.2022.11.001. Epub 2022 Nov 30.

Correlation between ABO blood type, susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease severity: A systematic review

Danyela Martins Bezerra Soares  1 , David Augusto Batista Sá Araújo  2 , Jorge Luiz de Brito de Souza  1 , Rebeca Bessa Maurício  1 , Emanuela Martins Bezerra Soares  3 , Franklin de Castro Alves Neto  1 , Maria Suelly Nogueira Pinheiro  2 , Vitor Carneiro de Vasconcelos Gama  4 , Pedro Braga-Neto  1 , Paulo Ribeiro Nóbrega  5 , Gislei Frota Aragão  1
Affiliations
Review

Correlation between ABO blood type, susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease severity: A systematic review

Danyela Martins Bezerra Soares et al. Hematol Transfus Cell Ther. 2023 Oct-Dec.

Abstract

Objectives: To verify the association between the ABO blood type and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease severity.

Methods: This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), using the 2020 PRISMA Checklist and flow diagram, and articles selected for review were analyzed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Rating Scale. The research question was: "Would the ABO blood group influence the risk of infection and clinical course of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2?", The following databases were used: Embase, PubMed, Virtual Health Library (VHL), Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Scopus. The protocol for this review was registered in the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), number CRD42021245945.

Results: We found 798 articles across PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct and Virtual Health Library and 54 articles were included in the final analysis. Among 30 studies evaluating the risk of COVID-19 infection, 21 found significant correlations with ABO blood groups, 14 of them revealing an increased risk in blood group A and 15 studies showing a decreased risk in blood group O. Most studies found no significant correlation with disease severity or mortality.

Conclusion: The qualitative assessment of available information suggests that blood group A may be a risk factor for COVID-19 infection and that blood group O may have a protective effect. We were unable to determine a clear association between the ABO blood group and mortality. These conclusions are based on highly heterogenous evidence.

Keywords: ABO blood group system; Antibodies; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Search and selection flow-chart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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