Blood type may increase the risk of certain health conditions

Written by Robert Braidt
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, May 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) – A new study suggests that certain blood types may increase a person’s risk of developing various health problems.

The research confirms some of the previous findings and reveals new links between blood types and diseases, according to the authors of the study published April 27 in the journal. eLife.

First author Torsten Dahlén said: “There is still very little information available about whether people with RhD-positive or RhD-negative blood groups are at risk of developing certain diseases, or how many other diseases may be affected by blood type or type the blood”. A PhD student at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

To help bridge this gap, researchers have investigated the link between blood types, RhD status, and more than 1,000 diseases. (A person who is Rh positive has a protein called D-antigen that is red Blood cells; Rhesus negative means that the protein is absent.)

An analysis of health data for more than 5 million people in Sweden identified 49 diseases associated with blood types, and one associated with the RD group.

She continued

The results showed that people with type A blood were more likely to be affected Blood clots; Those with blood type O are more likely to have a bleeding disorder; Women with blood type O were more likely to have pregnancy-induced hypertension (“Hypertension“).

Researchers have also found a new association between blood type B and a reduced risk of infection kidney stonesAnd, it noticed that women who got Rhesus-positive were more likely to have pregnancy-induced hypertension.

More research is needed to confirm these findings and learn more about the links between blood type and disease risk, according to the study authors.

“Our findings highlight new and interesting relationships between conditions such as kidney stones, pregnancy-induced hypertension and blood group or blood group,” said lead author Gustav Edgren, associate professor of epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute.

“They are laying the groundwork for future studies to determine the mechanisms underlying disease progression, or to investigate new ways to identify and treat individuals with specific conditions,” Edgreen added in a press release.