![]() Keep in mind these are preliminary results and more research needs to be done to understand how genetic variations truly affect COVID-19. There’s no need to get to a doctor if you’re type A, and on the flip side, there’s no reason to relax your precautions against coronavirus transmission - like social distancing and hand-washing - if you’re type O. What should you do in response to these studies, considering you can't change your blood type? Nothing yet. RELATED: What People With Heart Disease Need to Know About COVID-19 Should You Worry if You’re Type A or Relax if You’re Type O? “Next steps are to dig deeper into the blood groups system and see if we can pinpoint actual disease causes.” “There may be other issues at play here, but given the way we know COVID-19 works, these seem the most likely reasons,” Franke says. The third theory is that both of these reactions are occurring simultaneously. The second hypothesis is that the genetic variant causes more coagulation (blood clotting) in response to the coronavirus - an already observed result of disease progression. ![]() ![]() An excess of cytokines can damage healthy tissues. One is that the genetic variant itself contributes to the so-called “ cytokine storm,” in which a person’s immune system goes into overdrive in response to the novel coronavirus threat, releasing large amounts of pro-inflammatory substances called cytokines. In terms of why a variant like the gene related to blood type would have significance for COVID-19, Franke says there are three possible hypotheses. For example, people who lack a specific type of antigen, called a Duffy antigen, have a higher resistance to malaria. There are other types of diseases where blood types and blood groups affect a person’s susceptibility. In addition to the four main types - A, B, AB, and O - there is also a deeper classification system that includes different combinations of antigens (molecules on the surface of every red blood cell) and other substances. Franke hopes to build on the findings about type A blood with more targeted research, he says, especially because there are 36 known human blood groups. How Genes Could Make a Difference With the Coronavirusĭr. RELATED: The New Normal: What We Know About the Coronavirus So Far and How We Got Here The 23andMe study is still recruiting subjects, but already has 750,000 participants and is likely to come out with more data regarding genetic associations and COVID-19. The researchers found that people with type O blood are between 9 and 18 percent less likely to test positive for COVID-19 than other blood types. Researchers on another ongoing study, by genetic testing firm 23andMe, released preliminary data on June 8 suggesting that type O blood is protective against COVID-19. This gave the researchers more confidence in the associations, says study coauthor Andre Franke, PhD, professor of molecular medicine at the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology at University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel, Germany. This conclusion supports findings from early research done in China, which appeared March 27 in MedRxiv. ![]() The researchers found that type A blood was associated with a 50 percent increase in risk that a patient would become extremely ill with COVID-19 and need supplemental oxygen or a ventilator. One of these areas on the genome is related to blood types. Their analysis identified variations at two distinct areas on the genome (the complete set of human DNA, including all genes) that were associated with greater risk for severe reactions to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, including respiratory failure. The researchers scrutinized blood samples from 1,610 hospitalized patients in Italy and Spain with the disease, as well as a 2,205 healthy people in a control group. Preliminary results of this investigation (which have not yet been peer reviewed) were shared on June 2 on the preprint service MedRxiv. Recently, an ongoing study by European scientists has suggested one more potential factor to consider: blood type. Researchers have made progress in understanding some of the factors that make a difference, including obesity and underlying health conditions like diabetes and heart disease. One of the goals of COVID-19 research is understanding why some people develop mild or moderate cases while others experience life-threatening illness.
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