In the fight to protect ourselves from the coronavirus, there is something that does not depend on us and against which the masks have nothing to do. A study shows that some blood types are related to a greater probability of respiratory failure due to infection with this virus.
Scientists have carried out a complete genome-wide association study, the results of which will not appeal to everyone. The research starts with the analysis of 1,980 patients with respiratory failure due to COVID-19 in seven coronavirus epicentres in Italy and Spain.
Analysis of the correlation between the DNA of subjects with a higher susceptibility to the virus, the researchers concluded that people in the A+ blood group are at higher risk of respiratory complications from COVID-19.
On the other hand, it is inferred that people in group 0 are better protected from the virus. It should be noted that these results are strictly representative of the Italian and Spanish population since everyone who was from another ethnic origin was excluded in favour of greater homogeneity.
It should also be noted that this is a correlational study and that although there is an apparent relationship between the blood group and the propensity to suffer the worst consequences of COVID-19, it is not a causative relationship.
Furthermore, this study has not yet been approved for official publication, as it is still pending for a peer review.
However, in any case, this is the first significant indication that genetic factors play an important role in the body’s reaction to the coronavirus. Similar studies are now to be done in other areas of Europe and the world to check the prevalence of the results.