Blood groups and SARS-CoV-2 infection in Pinar del Río medical students

• Miló-Valdés, Carlos Alfredo ^[1] ; Lugo Hernández, Alberto ^[1] ; Pino Falcón, Anthuanet ^[1] ; García García, Mayelín ^[1] ; Vitón-Castillo, Adrián Alejandro ^[2] ; Orraca-Castillo, Odalys ^[2]
  1. [1] Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Pinar del Río. Hospital Pediátrico Provincial Docente “Pepe Portilla”. Pinar del Río, Cuba.
  2. [2] Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Pinar del Río. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna”. Pinar del Río, Cuba.
• Localización: Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología - Serie de Conferencias, ISSN-e 2953-4860, Vol. 2, Nº. 0, 2023 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología - Serie de Conferencias)
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Introduction: the influence of ABO and Rh blood type on susceptibility to infections by different agents has been studied and verified. Increasing evidence suggests that the ABO blood group plays a role in the immunopathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

    Objective: determine the association between blood group and SARS-CoV-2 infection in second-year medical students from Pinar del Río.

    Methods: an analytical, cross-sectional, retrospective study was carried out; in 402 second-year medical students from Pinar del Río, between February and May 2022. The blood group of the participants was determined using the immunohemagglutination technique.

    Results: groups A and O predominated in the sample with the same number of 173 individuals (43,03 %). 85,82 % were Rh positive. 35,82 % of the subjects had Covid-19. 45,14 % of the individuals who had Covid-19 were from group O and 38,19 % from group A; 80,56 % were Rh positive. Similarly, 34,72 % of the subjects who had Covid-19 were O+. In the association analyses, no statistically significant relationships were found in any of the comparison designs.

    Conclusions: the role of ABO blood group in SARS-CoV-2 infectivity and COVID-19 disease severity requires additional studies. The hypothesis that blood group was an influential factor in SARS-CoV-2 infection could not be proven or refuted.